Everton sale back on the table

AP:

EVERTON’S LONG-RUNNING takeover saga could soon be over after the struggling English Premier League team reached an agreement yesterday with the Texas-based Friedkin Group over the purchase of the club.

“We look forward to providing stability to the club, and sharing our vision for its future,” the group said in a statement jointly issued with Everton, who are in 19th place in the 20-team English top flight.

Fronted by Dan Friedkin and his son, Ryan, the group is a consortium of investments in automotive, entertainment, hospitality and sports which includes Italian football club Roma in its portfolio. The Friedkins made a fortune distributing Toyotas in Texas.

The group reached an agreement in principle in June to buy the 94 per cent stake of Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, but talks were called off a month later. Since then, Everton have been in negotiations with American businessman John Textor, who said at the start of this month he had an exclusivity agreement with the club that was due to expire on November 30.

Earlier this year, a proposed takeover by 777 Partners collapsed as Everton – nine-time English champions and an ever-present in the top division since 1954 – and Moshiri struggled to find either a buyer or significant outside investment.

Now, Everton and the Friedkin Group said they have reached agreement “over the terms of the sale” of Moshiri’s stake, adding that the deal is subject to approval from English football authorities.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to become custodians of this iconic football club,” the group said.

Textor’s attempts to purchase Everton were impeded by the fact that he is also a part-owner of fellow Premier League team Crystal Palace. It is forbidden to have a stake in two Premier League clubs at the same time, so Textor has been seeking to sell his shares.

Everton, however, have been haemorrhaging money on a monthly basis and need to quickly find a buyer, especially with the team leaving their long-term home of Goodison Park at the end of this season and moving into a new, state-of-the-art stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock that is close to completion.

The BBC reported yesterday that the Friedkin Group is already a lender to the club after injecting 200 million pounds ($265 million) and that this could be converted into equity as part of any deal. It has been reported that the group may demand the money back if any takeover attempt failed.

The Friedkins have never spoken publicly in the four years since they purchased Roma and are unpopular with supporters at the moment after firing Daniele De Rossi, the club’s beloved former captain, as coach last week and not fully explaining why.

Everton is one of England’s most storied clubs but haven’t won a major trophy since 1995 and have battled against relegation to the second-tier Championship in recent years, staying up on only the final day of the season in the 2022-23 season.