English Premier League side Everton FC could soon have a new owner after The Friedkin Group (TFG) confirmed its purchase of the club on Monday.
The sale of the majority stake in Everton, from Farhad Moshiri’s Blue Heaven Holdings to TFG, is still subject to approval by regulators including the Premier League itself, the English Football Association, and the Financial Conduct Authority, but is expected to go through.
Blue Heaven Holdings holds 94.1% of the shares in Everton, and the sale of these to TFG will see them become the majority owner, replacing Moshiri.
TFG Owner and CEO, Dan Friedkin, has a net worth that currently stands at $7.6 billion. He is also the president of the TFG-owned Italian Serie A club, AS Roma.
This current involvement in top-level soccer elsewhere in Europe could also help when it comes to TFG gaining approval from the various regulators, but there are expected to be no issues in this regard.
“Blue Heaven Holdings and The Friedkin Group confirm that they have reached agreement over the terms of the sale of Blue Heaven Holdings’ majority stake in Everton Football Club,” read a joint statement from the two parties on Everton’s website.
“The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, including from the Premier League, the Football Association, and the Financial Conduct Authority.”
TFG had a period of exclusivity to negotiate a deal with Moshiri in June of this year, but those initial talks collapsed in July.
However, the discussions and due diligence that took place during that period, and TFG’s previous knowledge of Everton’s accounts, will have made things smoother for the two parties once talks restarted this month.
A spokesperson for TFG said: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement to become custodians of this iconic football club.
“We are focused on securing the necessary approvals to complete the transaction.
“We look forward to providing stability to the club, and sharing our vision for its future, including the completion of the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.”
Other groups including 777 Partners, and John Textor—a part-owner in another English Premier League side, Crystal Palace—had also been linked to a purchase of Moshiri’s shares.
At the end of May it was clear that 777 could not do a deal, while Textor has always faced the problem of being unable to go ahead with a deal to buy Everton due to his involvement with Palace. Owners are not allowed to have stakes in more than one club.
Textor had genuine admiration and interest in Everton. He recently described the possibility of owning the Merseyside club as: “like somebody asking you ‘do you want to be the President of the United States?’ Of course you do, but you don’t necessarily think things are realistic.
“Everton, it’s like looking at the White House and saying I’m gonna live there some day.”
Everton responded to Textor’s comments, saying: “While positive conversations and progress continues to be made with Mr Textor to formalise any deal with him, there remains some work to be done to complete the transaction.
“Accordingly, the comments made by Mr Textor merely represent his personal view on Club matters.”
It has now become clear that TFG were much further along in the process and the stumbling blocks encountered earlier in the year have been overcome, specifically when it comes to agreements to deal with existing Everton debt, loans with RMF Funding and, in a more complicated scenario, A-Cap loans linked to 777 Partners.
An important detail in The Friedkin Group's deal to buy Everton: https://t.co/0mv7qNDkZP
— James Nalton (@JDNalton) September 23, 2024
Throughout the Everton sale process, TFG have appeared the most able to settle debts and navigate the often complicated process of dealing with the issues running alongside Everton’s finances, as well purchasing Moshiri’s shares in the club.
The collapse of TFG’s initial attempt to buy the club in the summer was met with disappointment, so it it likely that this latest news will be greeted with a mixture of satisfaction and relief, and could finally end a period of ownership-related turbulence at Everton FC.
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