A report on Monday evening claimed that The Friedkin Group had reignited its plan to buy Everton from wantaway owner Farhad Moshiri.
American billionaire Dan Friedkin hasn’t closed the door on reigniting a takeover bid for Everton. But it remains John Textor who is aiming to close a deal to buy out Farhad Moshiri.
Bloomberg reported on Monday evening that The Friedkin Group (TFG), the company through which Friedkin, who owns Italian Serie A club AS Roma, had been seeking to pursue an Everton deal, were ready to reconsider a return to the table over a potential takeover deal.
It is two months since TFG brought an end to their initial pursuit of the club, with the company, following a period of exclusivity and due diligence, having become concerned with the risk associated with the £200m-plus worth of debt that was provided by one-time Blues wannabe owners 777 Partners.
It is two months since TFG brought an end to their initial pursuit of the club, with the company, following a period of exclusivity and due diligence, having become concerned with the risk associated with the £200m-plus worth of debt that was provided by one-time Blues wannabe owners 777 Partners.
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TFG were understood to be concerned over the ongoing litigation in a New York civil court, with a case brought by London-based Leadenhall Capital making a series of allegations, including fraudulent activity, against 777 Partners and one of its backers, A-CAP.
Sources told the ECHO at the time that while the Blues were ‘by no means uninvestable’, the lack of appetite for risk on the part of TFG to take on the deal with live litigation was a key factor in ending talks.
Since then it has been Textor who has been in the driving seat. While he would need to divest his 45% stake in Premier League rivals Crystal Palace to complete an Everton takeover, the billionaire is currently in a period of exclusivity with Moshiri and has brought on board Miami-based investment fund Aliya Capital Partners to be one of his backers.
While TFG representatives have declined to comment on the Bloomberg report, it is understood from sources the ECHO has spoken to that while some interest in potentially rekindling a deal may be on the radar for the group in a way that it wasn’t a few weeks ago, little has progressed in terms on that front.
TFG has regular dialogue with Everton due to the fact that they are one of the club’s biggest creditors. The firm, at the time of entering into a period of exclusivity earlier in the summer, took on the £200m that had been loaned to the Blues by New York firm MSP Sports Capital for use on ensuring the capital requirements for the stadium build at Bramley-Moore Dock were met.
The new stadium is a key part of the investment thesis for all interested parties in taking over Everton and ensuring its financing to completion has been of paramount importance.
With no resolution yet made public in the 777 Partners and Leadenhall case, TFG’s position is unlikely to seriously shift until they have clarity.
There is also the issue of the £200m loan. That loan is to be paid back to TFG in the event of a sale. And that means that Textor and his group would have to negotiate with TFG directly in order to settle that to move forward with a deal.
It is a takeover situation that has a number of moving parts, and the nature of debt structures and the amount of different entities that have some kind of stake, as well as Textor’s own need to divest his stake in Palace, means that it is complex in nature.
Sources the ECHO spoke to on Monday evening said that it was likely that TFG were keeping all options open, but that it was also likely premature to think that they had returned with full force to the negotiating table.
For Moshiri, he has options from interested parties who have access to the money required and who would, in all likelihood, sail through the owners and directors tests and assessments from the Financial Conduct Authority.
While the Blues have started poorly in the Premier League this season, the summer business and tranche of funding from the Premier League’s central payments has aided the club’s cash flow, with funding headaches over the new stadium and what had been a constant need to find fresh capital for its completion beginning to ease a little.
But a swift resolution to who takes over the reins from Moshiri will be required, with mid to late November having been mooted as a time when some clarity may arrive. However, that would depend on a considerable number of factors, meaning it could well rumble on for some time yet.
