Staveley forced to clarify Spurs bid intention after Levy exit
Amanda Staveley, the former Newcastle United Football Club joint-owner, will on Monday be forced to clarify her interest in bidding for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur following veteran chairman Daniel Levy’s unexpected departure last week.
Sky News has learnt that PCP International Finance, a vehicle controlled by Ms Staveley, is expected to issue a statement following discussions with the UK takeover watchdog saying that she does not intend to make a formal offer for Spurs.
People close to the situation said on Sunday that Ms Staveley had been in discussions with prospective backers of a bid for the club in recent weeks.
Spurs’ ownership is complicated by the fact that it is subject to the UK Takeover Code – governed by the Takeover Panel.
Under the provisions in the Code, PCP could yet return with a formal takeover bid for Spurs if invited to do so by the board of Enic, or if a rival bidder announces its intention to make a firms offer for last season’s Europa League winners.
City sources pointed to these caveats as being particularly relevant to Ms Staveley’s potential ongoing interest in Spurs.
Enic owns a stake of nearly 87% in the club, with the remaining shares owned by a group of minority investors.
Daniel Levy. Pic: PA
Mr Levy reportedly owns a stake of almost 30% in Enic, while Joe Lewis, Enic’s majority-owner, transferred control of his stake in Spurs to his family trust in 2022.
A source close to the Lewis family said on Sunday evening: “The club is not for sale.”
His exit last week after nearly 25 years as Tottenham chairman was apparently driven by a desire to inject fresh momentum into the leadership of the club.
In a statement last week, it said: “Tottenham Hotspur has been transformed over the last quarter of a century.
“It has played in European competitions in the last 18 of 20 seasons, becoming one of the world’s most recognised football clubs, consistently investing in its academy, players and facilities, including a new, world-class stadium and state of the art training centre.”
Rothschild, the investment bank, had previously been engaged by Mr Levy to raise hundreds of millions of capital to invest in Spurs.
Those discussions are understood to have involved a range of parties in the past year.
Any takeover bid for Spurs, regardless of the identity of the bidder, would be likely to value at well in excess of £3.5bn for it to be deemed acceptable.
A spokesman for Ms Staveley declined to comment on Sunday evening.
The co-founders of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brand are demanding the brand be given its independence back amid a long-running row with its current UK owner.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have written an open letter demanding that it be “released” from its parent firm.
Mr Cohen told Sky News he would give back the money he received in the sale of the business to Unilever in 2000 if it meant the brand could be independent.
Ben & Jerry’s is set to spin off all its ice cream brands under The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) name in a deal set to be fully completed before the end of the year.
“You’re saying, would I give it back? Absolutely. If we could still have Ben and Jerry’s independent, any day”, he said.
“It seems like the board of Magnum has been Trumpified”, Mr Cohen told Sky News as he protested the “silencing” of Ben & Jerry’s social mission.
Money latest: My parents’ row with P&O Cruises was resolved by audio recording
The consumer goods firm Unilever has never enjoyed an easy relationship with Ben & Jerry’s – a brand known for its activism on many political and social issues.
As part of the original merger deal, an independent board was set up to protect the ice cream brand’s mission.
But a series of disputes have followed.
The most high-profile spat came in 2021 when the US brand took the decision not to sell ice cream in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories on the grounds that sales would be “inconsistent” with its values.
Ben Cohen in London
Unilever responded by selling the business to its licensee in Israel.
The independent board is currently locked in a legal dispute with Unilever, claiming in March that its then-chief executive David Stever was improperly sacked.
Ben Cohen. File pic: AP
For its part, Unilever has always argued that it “reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions” as owners of Ben & Jerry’s.
In another example of the frostiness between them, an ice cream flavour launched in support of Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris went down badly in London.
Ben & Jerry’s claimed Unilever had demanded it stop public criticism of Donald Trump.
Mr Cohen was one of seven people arrested during the Senate protest in May
Ben Cohen himself was arrested earlier this year over a protest in support of Gaza during a US Senate hearing.
He and Mr Greenfield intervened in the ownership row as TMICC briefed investors on their plans at a so-called capital markets day. They say the independent board and many consumers and employees “no longer support the trajectory on which it is set”.
Mr Cohen, who is attending the event to protest, said: “Ben & Jerry’s was founded on a simple but radical premise: that our business could thrive and make outstanding products whilst standing up for progressive values.
“We fought to ensure our social justice mission was protected by Unilever when the company was acquired, but over the past several years, this has been eroded, and the company’s voice has been muted.
“We won’t be silent anymore. Authenticity has always been at the very heart of what we do, and stripping this away risks destroying the very value of Ben & Jerry’s. We urge the board and potential investors to rethink the inclusion of Ben & Jerry’s in Magnum’s future makeup and establish a Free Ben & Jerry’s.”
The new ice cream division, which will also comprise other brands such as Wall’s, is based in the Netherlands and will have a primary stock market listing in Amsterdam.
A spokesperson for The Magnum Ice Cream Company told Sky News: “Ben & Jerry’s is a proud part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and is not for sale.
“We remain committed to Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission – product, economic and social – and look forward to building on its success as an iconic, much-loved business.”
Unilever has also been contacted for comment.
The co-founders of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brand are demanding the brand is given its independence back amid a long-running row with its current UK owner.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have written an open letter demanding that it be “released” from its parent firm.
Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000 but is set to spin off all its ice cream brands under The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) name in a deal set to be fully completed before the end of the year.
The consumer goods firm has never enjoyed an easy relationship with Ben & Jerry’s – a brand known for its activism on many political and social issues.
Money latest: My parents’ row with P&O Cruises was resolved by audio recording
As part of the original merger deal, an independent board was set up to protect the ice cream brand’s mission.
But a series of disputes have followed.
The most high-profile spat came in 2021 when the US brand took the decision not to sell ice cream in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories on the grounds that sales would be “inconsistent” with its values.
Unilever responded by selling the business to its licensee in Israel.
Ben Cohen. File pic: AP
The independent board is currently locked in a legal dispute with Unilever, claiming in March that its then-chief executive David Stever was improperly sacked.
For its part, Unilever has always argued that it “reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions” as owners of Ben & Jerry’s.
In another example of the frostiness between them, an ice cream flavour launched in support of Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris went down badly in London.
Ben & Jerry’s claimed Unilever had demanded it stop public criticism of Donald Trump.
Ben Cohen himself was arrested earlier this year over a protest in support of Gaza during a US Senate hearing.
Mr Cohen was one of seven people arrested during the Senate protest in May
He and Mr Greenfield intervened in the ownership row as TMICC briefed investors on their plans at a so-called capital markets day. They say the independent board and many consumers and employees “no longer support the trajectory on which it is set”.
Mr Cohen, who is attending the event to protest, said: “Ben & Jerry’s was founded on a simple but radical premise: that our business could thrive and make outstanding products whilst standing up for progressive values.
“We fought to ensure our social justice mission was protected by Unilever when the company was acquired, but over the past several years, this has been eroded, and the company’s voice has been muted.
“We won’t be silent anymore. Authenticity has always been at the very heart of what we do, and stripping this away risks destroying the very value of Ben & Jerry’s. We urge the board and potential investors to rethink the inclusion of Ben & Jerry’s in Magnum’s future make-up and establish a Free Ben & Jerry’s.”
The new ice cream division, which will also comprise other brands such as Wall’s, is based in the Netherlands and will have a primary stock market listing in Amsterdam.
Unilever and TMICC have been contacted for comment.
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