Everton takeover news as whispers suggest £250m 777 Partners bid
Whispers have emerged suggesting that 777 Partners have placed a £250m bid for a takeover of Everton, according to Paul Brown.
The journalist reported on his personal Twitter account (10 August) that the US Private investors group who own multiple football clubs all around the world are rumoured to have placed a bid for ownership of the Merseyside club.
777 Partners have at least part ownership of seven clubs in seven different countries, including Sevilla and Genoa and have already made one firm offer of investment to the Toffees in the past, but talks of any potential takeover were nothing more than a PR exercise, reported Brown on Josimar Football (3 July).
David Ornstein had reported via the Athletic on April 17 that the Miami-based firm was taking an interest in the Toffees but was reluctant to begin working on a deal until they knew which league Everton would be playing in and the seriousness of potential punishments if the Toffees were found guilty of breaching FFP rules.
Discussing the latest potential offer, Brown tweeted: “With MSP investment yet to be confirmed, latest whispers are of a new £250m bid for EFC from 777 Partners.”
The BBC reported on Monday (8 August) that there were “no obstacles” to investment in Everton from MSP Sports Capital, who the Toffees entered an exclusivity agreement with in May to acquire new funding for their new stadium on Bramley Moore Dock.
Development of the new stadium has seen focus placed on completing the £760m facility and the process of MSP taking a stake in the club to help with the costs “remains ongoing.”
All very messy
Farhad Moshiri isn’t a particularly popular figure on Merseyside, with plenty of protests in recent seasons about how he has run the club, with results on the pitch being underwhelming and the Toffees posting losses of £430m over the past five years [BBC, 22 May].
New investment is needed, and quickly especially after the stadium which was estimated to originally cost £500m now is well over budget at £760m and with another Premier League season around the corner, Everton won’t want to just sit on their hands and wait for MSP to agree a deal.
But coming under the 777 umbrella may be an even more worrying situation for the Toffees, with all of the clubs under their ownership actively haemorrhaging money making many wonder why they are continuing to invest in football with one financial expert telling Brown: “I can’t see how they will ever make a return on their investment, but I can see how they could lose a lot more money. The whole thing doesn’t make sense to me.”
There has been so much turmoil at Goodison Park over the last few seasons and a potentially chaotic new owner who is willing to throw money at the problem without reason may not be as good a fix as it sounds. With many of their clubs suffering relegations or underwhelming seasons.
Moshiri may not be the most likeable owner in the world, but what’s out there about 777 Partners doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence they would be much better.
In other Everton news, one new signing is set to be announced once Visa issues can be combatted