Premier League anxious over Everton takeover as ‘small print’ causes 777 Partners issues
The Premier League are anxious about a “speculative lawsuit” from prospective Everton owners 777 Partners, according to Kieran Maguire.
The Miami-based investment firm has agreed on a deal to acquire Farhad Moshiri’s controlling stake at Goodison Park but is still waiting for approval from the Premier League to complete its takeover.
Moshiri has extended the deal’s deadline until the end of May and while some suggest 777 may be able to complete their acquisition, football finance expert Maguire thinks the small print of the deal has all but made the takeover impossible.
Speaking on The Price Of Football (23 May) he said: “In defence of the Premier League, they’ve not taken over Everton Football Club. The Premier League will have taken legal council and they cannot force Farhad Moshiri to say that 777 are the preferred partners.
“What they can do is say that they’ve not passed the owners and directors test, these are the conditions and those conditions are pretty onerous and 777 appear to have come no closer to satisfying those conditions.
“The Premier League are anxious to avoid a speculative lawsuit from 777 by simply saying you’re not going to become owners, but they’ve made the small print so challenging that it is effectively going to do that unless 777 manages to find a load of money from a benefactor.”
Will 777 Partners complete their takeover of Everton at Goodison Park?
So much of the Premier League season at Goodison Park was dominated by off-the-field drama at Everton and it doesn’t seem like that is going to change during the off-season.
It has been clear for some time now that 777 Partners don’t appear to have the financial power to meet the Premier League’s conditions, but Richard Masters has insisted the league cannot turn the Miami-based firm away.
There has been complete chaos around 777 Partners in recent weeks with financial issues rising across their businesses and football teams which could potentially put the breaks on their takeover at Goodison Park.
Hopefully, Moshiri will finally wake up and explore potential alternative buyers. Administration is a genuine threat on Merseyside and it only becomes more worrying while this deal hangs in the balance.
In other Everton news, Dyche may have been handed a new Amadou Onana blow following the Toffees’ defeat to Arsenal
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