Everton takeover on the brink of collapse
Moshiri holds crisis talks with 777 over funding fears Miami firm facing lawsuits and claims of unpaid bills
Everton’s proposed takeover by 777 Partners was at severe risk of collapse last night after owner Farhad Moshiri held crisis talks with the Miami group.
The British-iranian businessman has held two days of face-to-face meetings but it appears he is yet to be convinced 777 has funds to complete the deal.
Multiple sources close to the talks say Moshiri is considering his options as lawsuits and claims of unpaid bills pile up against crisis-engulfed 777.
One major complication, however, is that 777 has paid almost £200million into Everton since September. The group transferred £16million last week to fulfil operating costs while a takeover remained pending after eight months. However, amid mounting doubt about the group’s financial status, reports in Belgium suggest Standard Liege, one of 777’s existing clubs, have now been told there is no money to pay them until the end of the season.
Moshiri announced an agreement to sell his 94.1 per cent stake to 777 in September, but completion had been held up by the firm fulfilling outstanding commitments requested by the Premier League. The company had been paying operating costs since but had yet to clear a £160million debt to MSP Capital, which was outlined in the top tier’s demands.
Those close to talks told Telegraph Sport discussions between Moshiri over the past two days surrounded “both short and longterm” issues in the proposed deal. As recently as last week, Moshiri appeared committed to the deal but pressure has intensified, with the Everton Fan Advisory Board joining minority shareholders in demanding an end to the saga yesterday.
The fan board, which was launched to give supporters a greater say after the 2021 European Super League furore, requested meetings with the club, saying: “This ongoing confusion and lack
of transparency cannot continue. Each party must recognise the role it is playing in sullying the reputation of one of the most storied clubs in English football and appreciate that all the rumour and speculation is causing extremely high levels of anxiety and concern to the club’s greatest assets: their fans.”
Previous direct correspondence with Moshiri, 777 and other interested parties had failed to answer concerns, the group added. In the fan board’s new demands, Moshiri was told he must “recognise now is the time for other bidders to be offered the opportunity to acquire Everton” and 777 should “recognise your inability to bring the funding necessary to consummate the original deal and the growing reputational damage you are incurring with lawsuit after lawsuit makes you unsuitable owners of EFC”.
The Premier League, meanwhile, should “recognise it is time for you to live up to your responsibilities (as defined by the owners’ and directors’ test in your own rulebook) by rejecting 777 Partners in order to allow discussions with more suitable owners of our great club”.
Everton Shareholders’ Association had said on Tuesday that the “powers-that-be are being disrespectful” and must pull the plug on the proposed deal.
Fewer than five per cent of the club is owned independently of Moshiri’s Blue Heaven Holdings and the estate of the late Bill Kenwright. However, the association, founded in 1938, still carries some club influence as a “watchdog”. “We are the oldest shareholders’ association in the world and are dismayed by the lack of respect shown to our club by Farhad Moshiri, and the Premier League during a never-ending change of ownership process,” the group said. “We insist that the Everton board, and Moshiri in particular, stop this damaging process now and recognise that 777 Partners are not at this time fit-and-proper prospective owners of Everton.”
Frustration is mounting internally, however, that the situation remains unresolved after a fraught fortnight of legal complaints faced by 777. On Monday, former owners at Standard Liege demanded the seizure of millions of pounds of assets in the country.