Everton takeover rumbles on as conversations continue between Farhad Moshiri and Peter Kenyon
The potential takeover of Everton has not got any clearer despite ongoing contact between Farhad Moshiri and Peter Kenyon, according to Matt Law.
Liverpool Echo reporter Chris Beesley reported on 1 July that the deal which would have seen the Peter Kenyon-led consortium take control of the Toffees had collapsed, but journalist Dave Powell later reported the group were disputing that claim.
The two parties engaged in a phone call on Friday 1 July in an attempt to clarify the situation but neither side of the saga was ready to back down on their stance, and it appears contact is ongoing since despite exclusivity having expired.
“Understand there was a phone call between the Kenyon-Kaminski group and Moshiri-Everton over the weekend,” Law, a journalist for the Telegraph, reported via his personal Twitter account.
“Each side maintaining Friday’s position: Moshiri side insist it is over, Kenyon-Kaminski side say they have not given up.”
Any deal to buy Everton would not only cost the £500million Moshiri is demanding but also a similar fee to ensure the completion of the new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium.
The Liverpool Echo’s own story on the matter says: “The ECHO has been told that, as of Monday morning, further conversations have been had since Friday, something that remains ongoing.
“There has, however, been no extension of the exclusivity period and Moshiri, who has been said to be keen to focus his attention now on finding investment for the stadium as opposed to seeking a full sale of the club, is free to speak to any other interested parties.”
Saga
With huge sums of money involved the stakes are extremely high, and clearly there has been some sort of disagreement for either side to be claiming different views of the situation.
While the news at the end of last week seemed to signal the end to this group’s bid to take control of the club, the fact that discussions are ongoing doesn’t rule out the possibility that things could get back on track.
Obviously, if the exclusivity period has ended then the other interested parties now have an opportunity.
There would have been a reason that the Kenyon consortium was given priority over the alternatives in the first place, but after negotiations have reached this point new talks with a rival not carrying the same baggage might have a better chance.
In light of the current regime’s popularity among many fans it won’t come as a massive surprise to them that negotiations to pass the club on have become this confusing.
It would be beneficial for some clarity to emerge soon as opposing briefings to the press only increase the instability around the club when the fanbase have been through enough of that already this year.