Kieran Maguire explains expensive route Dan Friedkin may take at Everton
Everton have several “legacy issues” for Dan Friedkin to deal with once he completes his takeover of the club, according to Kieran Maguire.
Speaking to TheBootRoom (8 July), football finance expert Maguire said that the Toffees still have roughly £390million in loans left to pay off from previous debt financing deals agreed by Farhad Moshiri.
Friedkin has reportedly already paid off a £158million loan to MSP Sports Capital since agreeing a period of exclusivity to complete a takeover from Moshiri, and Maguire wondered if he’d do the same with the remaining debt [Liverpool Echo, 24 June].
He said: “I think there are legacy issues for the Friedkin group to deal with first.
“While my understanding is that the MSP loan has been paid off, there are still issues.
“If Friedkin wants to pay down all the third-party debt, that would free up other opportunities. But it’s a very expensive route to go down.
“He will effectively have to convert any outstanding debts from Moshiri into equity as far as the overall settlement is concerned.“
Dan Friedkin could take time to improve Everton fortunes
Given he’s inheriting the mother of all financial footballing messes at Goodison Park this summer, it’s hardly surprising to see Maguire being cautious on Friedkin’s behalf.
Friedkin will want to put such financial issues to bed as quickly as he can [Sky Sports, 22 June] and paying off such a substantial amount of debt would certainly be another to step to getting the club back on the right footing.
Paying off MSP’s loan to the club has helped to facilitate the completion of the Toffees’ new stadium on Bramley-Moore Dock, and this could play a crucial role in generating finance further down the line.
The Friedkin Group takeover, once given the green light by the FA and Premier League to ratify their deal, does give the Goodison faithful hope of financial stability but that might not be the case straight away [the i, 18 June].
It’s a long road back from the missteps that saw the club twice found guilty of a breach of Profit and Sustainability rules to be deducted points, but the Toffees are at least, barring a late collapse, finally on the road ahead.
In other Everton news, the club have agreed terms on a brand new transfer according to Fabrizio Romano.
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