Everton: 777 Partners hold last-ditch talks over £360m loan as takeover hangs in balance
777 Partners are trying to secure a last-gasp £360million loan to keep their attempted Everton takeover alive, according to Bloomberg.
The outlet reported via their website on 12 April that the Miami-based firm has attempted to negotiate the major funding with Blue Owl Capital Inc, tied to the new stadium, with the deadline to repay £158m in loans to MSP Sports Capital just days away (15 April).
If that loan isn’t repaid, one of the Premier League’s conditions to grant approval for the takeover, then MSP could acquire majority control of the club from Farhad Moshiri.
It emerged earlier this week that 777 had asked for an extension to the Monday deadline to pay the loan which the deal now hinges on.
777 Partners in final roll of Everton takeover dice
It is still not clear what MSP’s plans are ahead of the opportunity arising for them to step in and take control.
But if 777 are scrambling to land such a massive loan, on top of all the ones they have apparently taken out to fund the club over the past 30 weeks since their deal with Moshiri was announced, it might suggest they haven’t had a positive response from their fellow American investors on the extension request.
In the event that 777 are granted the funds they are looking for to get their takeover completed it would appear to play directly into major fears that were recently raised over a leveraged buyout in the style of the Glazer family and Manchester United.
It surely has to be deemed a stretch for the firm to land the funding they need at the 11th hour when they have had months to come up with it already.
They reportedly have made progress towards the other Premier League conditions since they were made clear in a letter from Richard Masters’ office, but were set to argue they hadn’t had enough time to meet the requirement to repay the MSP loan.
However, since the 15 April deadline was already of the terms of that loan Moshiri it surely can’t have come as news from the league that the £158m to repay it was needed by this stage, meaning that argument may not have been paid much heed.
In other Everton news, a Toffees “colossus” has been told he needs to leave the club this summer.
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