777 Partners Everton takeover ‘Up In The Air’ amid journalist update
777 Partners’ protracted takeover of Everton remains “up in the air” as they await the Premier League’s approval for it to be completed.
Farhad Moshiri has agreed a deal for his 94.1% stake in the club, with the club’s statement writing that they expect a deal to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023.
But while speaking to GiveMeSport (25 September), journalist Paul Brown admitted that there is a “long way to go” before any deal gets a sign off from the Premier League due to their ongoing lawsuits elsewhere.
“Yeah, there isn’t a lot I can share really,” he said.
“I know this is in the hands of the regulators now and I know that questions have been asked already about some of their businesses and about some of the lawsuits they’re involved in. I think that process is going to take quite a lot of time.
“So, Everton fans probably shouldn’t be expecting a verdict or anything close to a verdict for several weeks, I mean, there could be quite a delay in this because there’s quite a lot for the Premier League to look into. Everything else seems to be in place.
“They’ve clearly raised some money from somewhere. It’s hard to say how much and it’s hard to know whether that is going to cover paying off the existing lenders who it’s understood would both demand repayment if the deal goes through.
“But there’s a lot of things up in the air still. So I think I think we’re in for quite a wait.”
Unexpected
Everton immediately saw it as good news when a takeover deal was announced, but the more time has gone on the more doubts have emerged.
777 Partners are under increasing pressure financially to prove that they can actually afford the deal to purchase the club and go through with it, while also dealing with lawsuits and their other clubs.
A finish to the deal before the end of the year now seems hugely unlikely and that could have lasting effects on the January transfer window and ultimately the way the season pans out for the club.
We have to ensure that we’re still a Premier League club by the time next summer comes around otherwise the club will be in a real state going forward, and we simply can’t be sure that we’ll even be able to survive that.
The quicker it gets sorted the better, but fans want to be assured that they’re the right people to come in and save the club rather than just another source of bad news.
In other Everton news, journalist drops ‘arguments’ at the club amid recent development.