The Everton takeover saga is drawing towards an end after Dan Friedkin is close to buying the Toffees.
According to Paul Joyce of The Times (14 June), the AS Roma owner is set to be handed exclusivity to complete the takeover after a deal has been agreed.
The 59-year-old business tycoon has a net worth of £4.9 billion. He is the chairman and chief executive of the US-based Friedkin Group, and has been in talks with Farhad Moshiri to buy his 94.1% shares at the club.
UK-based investor Vici Private Finance and local businessmen Andy Bell and George Downing also showed interest in buying the club, but Moshiri has decided to reach an agreement with Friedkin, who has experience running a big football club.
Joyce reports that Friedkin will need to pay an initial £200 million, which will pay off a £158million loan, and provide working capital of £30million for the club. This is a huge boost for the club, as they need to clear off the debts in order to progress.
Time scale for exclusivity
The loan payoff is scheduled for Monday, and Moshiri will hand over the exclusivity rights on Tuesday. After that, Friedkin will have to pass the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test, which should not be difficult because they seem to have a very transparent business, unlike the 777 Partners.
The Toffees have borrowed around £50 million from Bell and Downing and took loans of around £80 million from MSP Sports Capital.
It will be interesting to see if the Premier League gives the green signal within the next month. In that case, the Toffees can expect to do some business in the transfer window, and bring in some quality players.
At the moment, the Toffees need to offload players before the end of this month to avoid another Premier League punishment. Jarrad Branthwaite and Amadou Onana are two bankable assets, and the Toffees expect to offload either or both of them this summer.
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