Everton takeover: 777 upset at slack Premier League as ‘standard’ delay close to doubles
The Premier League’s lack of urgency to make a decision on the Everton takeover bid is causing increasing frustration with 777 Partners, according to talkSPORT.
The outlet reported via their website on 23 February that the “standard timescale” for a decision like this is supposed to be 12 weeks, but the Toffees are now entering their 24th week since a deal was announced between the Americans and Farhad Moshiri on 15 September.
A “standard” 12-week wait would have seen the deal ratified in early December, but as February draws to a close there is still no answer.
The Premier League has instead asked 777 Partners, who have provided over £150million in loans for the club’s running costs during the delay, to provide information on their funding, which the company believed they had already done.
Premier League still keep Everton waiting
If the process has now stretched to almost double the usual length of time then clearly there is an issue somewhere.
Whether the fault lies with 777 Partners or the Premier League is hard to say, but neither outcome is particularly positive for the club.
On one hand the Miami-based firm has provided tens of millions in loans to keep the club running, whereas the Premier League has charged the Toffees twice in the same season for profit and sustainability breaches, where the appeals panel is also keeping the club hanging.
On the other hand if the prospective new owners have provided incomplete or unsatisfactory information it will set alarm bells ringing when there have been frequent reports suggesting their are unsuitable to takeover at Everton and their insurance arm was just hit by a second credit rating downgrade in three months.
Quite what boat the club will be left in if the takeover is not ratified by the league and 777 therefore stop providing working capital is a daunting prospect.
Because if it isn’t going to be the Americans then Farhad Moshiri will need to start funding the club again or an alternative bid is going to need to spring out of the shadows extremely quickly.
In other Everton news, Richard Keys and Andy Gray have ripped apart a Toffees player over his struggles.
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