Jay-Z Preparing to Bid on English Premier League Team, Tottenham Hotspur
Billionaire hip-hop recording artist, Jay-Z has his eyes on a professional football team and is ready to make a substantial bid on it.
According to Daily Express US, the Brooklyn businessman is interested in purchasing a team in the English Premier League. The team, Tottenham Hotspur, may need a new owner soon as the current one is facing major jail time after being accused of insider trading and securities fraud in the United States. The team plays its games in London.
The person who owns Tottenham Hotspur, British billionaire Joe Lewis received bail last week from a Manhattan Federal Court judge after the 86-year-old man pled guilty to charges of giving insider trading tips. He is facing 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.
The charges each carry a maximum sentence of between five and 25 years in jail for each one attributed to Lewis. Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, told the court: “He used inside information as a way to compensate his employees or shower gifts on his friends and lovers. That’s classic corporate corruption.”
Hip-Hop’s King of New York, the 53-year-old business mogul, who has a net worth of more than $2.5 billion is leading a group of American investors who are waiting to see what happens to Lewis and if an opportunity will arise from his situation.
13 years ago, Jay-Z reportedly had an interest in buying the Spurs’ bitter North London rivals, Arsenal. He revealed at the time that he had become a huge fan of the team and Thierry Henry, who played for the team, was his favorite player. Although he was interested, the sale didn’t happen. At the time, Jay-Z remarked, “I don’t know a lot about the business of soccer but in the future, if the right opportunity presented itself, then who knows?”
Well, if things don’t go well for the federally charged Lewis, that time could be forthcoming for the “Streets Is Watching” lyricist. The Tottenham Hotspur team has an estimated market value of about $2.8 billion. That amount can be matched by the fortune of Jay-Z and his fellow investors.
