Everton takeover: Jim White in disbelief at £600million valuation as double Newcastle, Simon Jordan reacts
Jim White couldn’t believe that Everton were being valued at double the amount Newcastle were sold for in October 2021 amid a reported £600million takeover being imminent in the Daily Mail.
Alan Myers has since countered that Farhad Moshiri remains in talks with 777 Partners, but that MSP Sports Capital are in fact still the front-runners, with any move still some weeks off.
But while the timescale and the leading suitors continue to change with each report, Simon Jordan gave his explanation of the valuation in the face of White’s shock at the comparison to Mike Ashley’s sale of the now-high-flying Magpies to the current Saudi-backed owners.
Speaking live on talkSPORT on Thursday morning (18 May, 11.23am) White asked: “Is £600million about right for Everton?”
“Depends what debt you’re carrying,” replied Jordan.
White said in disbelief: “Newcastle was £300million?! £600million for Everton compared to Newcastle’s £300million?”
“Newcastle were only valuable to somebody if they were in the Premier League,” said Jordan, “so then it becomes what you’re going to spend from there on afterwards, and Mike Ashley could have asked for more but he wanted his money back, he wanted to get out of the football club, and whatever hatred they had of Mike Ashley at least he didn’t make it unsellable.”
He then compared minority stakes in Crystal Palace and West Ham that valued them “in the realms” with Everton as “good football clubs” in the Premier League that aren’t multi-billion “blue-chip brands” like Manchester United.
Pretty penny
There are a number of parallels between the Newcastle of two years ago and the Everton of today, as large, well-supported clubs that fell on hard times under unpopular regimes.
While the £4.25billion-all-in agreement for Todd Boehly’s consortium to buy Chelsea from Roman Abramovich [Sky News, 7 May 2022], and the ongoing race to secure Manchester United for over £5billion [Guardian, 16 May] may have skewed the perception the Toffees’ valuation doesn’t immediately sound wild.
Based on Jordan’s assessment it would seem that Ashley provided the current Newcastle hierarchy with a bargain, especially given their rapid rise from relegation candidates to Champions League hopefuls.
A similar transformation is be exactly what the Evertonians would hope for if and when Moshiri passes the club on, at least on the pitch.
If Newcastle qualify for the top European competition, continue to add to their squad successfully, and potentially win trophies before long then their valuation will shoot up.
But with Sean Dyche battling to keep this club’s head above water, the valuation at Goodison Park is conversely at risk of heading in the opposite direction.
The parties interested in Everton are not reported to be about to abandon their plans if they are relegated, but it will surely be a deal of much different terms if the worst were to happen in the next fortnight.