Friedkin has mid-January deadline to seal Everton masterstroke – Kieran Maguire
Kieran Maguire suggested that The Friedkin Group could convert their outstanding loans into shares at Everton before the APT deadline.
The Blues voted in favour of the Premier League for amendments to Associated Party Transactions on 22 November, which could be problematic for TFG if the existing debts are not addressed.
However, sports finance expert Maguire has suggested a way Dan Friedkin could go around the APT ruling on The Price of Football podcast [12 December, 32:49] by converting their existing loans to Everton into shares before the 11 January deadline.
“I think it would be great, from Everton’s point of view, if The Friedkin Group converted their loans into shares because now that we’ve got this APT ruling coming through in January.
“I think if you want to convert your loans and have no interest charged, you’ve got to do that by [11 January]. So, if you reduce the loans, that reduces the interest, which goes into your PSR calculations.”
The Friedkin Group can clear the outstanding debt at Everton
Although there is yet to be clarity regarding how shareholder loans will be classified under the new regulations, the outstanding debts at Everton must be cleared before the deadline.
All money owed would need to be submitted to the Premier League for assessment of fair market value otherwise, and considering the Toffees’ history with Profit and Sustainability rules, this is not a risk worth taking for TFG.
The American consortium needs to clear £600 million worth of debt [talkSPORT] before the takeover is finalised, with £451m owed to current majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, who has also pledged to convert his loans into shares for the benefit of Everton [The Guardian].
With a clear manoeuvring strategy laid bare, the ATP ruling is unlikely to hold any significance to the takeover but, merely represents another hurdle TFG must overcome once they walk through the doors at Goodison Park.
While the Everton faithful will hold animosity towards Moshiri for his gross handling of the Merseyside outfit throughout his infamous tenure, all parties are clearly striving towards a swift resolution of the proceedings ahead of what promises to be a fruitful new era for the Toffees.
In other Everton news, the Premier League have finally drawn a line under the Blues takeover saga.
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