Skip to main content

Minority investment at Everton?

A story in The Guardian claimed Farhad Moshiri is willing to sell Everton for £500million ($620m) and has instructed Deloitte’s sports business arm to handle the process: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jan/24/everton-for-sale-farhad-moshiri-asking-price-more-than-500m

Around 20 minutes later, the club released an interview with Moshiri in conversation with fan advisory board (FAB) chair Jazz Bal, recorded before Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham United, in which he insisted he does not want to sell.

“The club is not for sale but I’ve been talking to top investors, real quality, to bridge a gap on the stadium finance,” Moshiri said. “I can do it (finance the new stadium) myself but the reason I want to do it is to bring top sport investors into Everton — for some of the reasons the fans want: improvement, more talent.

“I’m committed to this club, not just the stadium, but to join the elite. We are close to having a deal done. We are very close to stadium financing and I hope to be able to announce that to you soon. It’s not selling the club at all.”

It was revealed in June that Moshiri entered into discussions with US consortium KAM Sports, helmed by Minneapolis-based property developer Maciek Kaminski, last year with a view to securing stadium funding but those talks developed into a full-blown takeover proposal. The group is believed to have valued Everton at around £500million.

Moshiri himself lost faith in the group’s ability to complete a takeover and talks ended abruptly. There has been little prospect of a deal being resuscitated. Last month, KAM Sports completed a takeover of Greek top-tier side Panetolikos.

The frontrunner fot equity investment is a group that already has holdings at other football clubs, and a significant holding in a different sport. Should the deal get over the line, the group wants a representative with a seat on Everton’s board.

A consortium based in the north west of England has contacted Moshiri to register interest in a smaller investment and another US-based group of wealthy individuals, including Everton supporters, are also considering an offer.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

A poor financial record, but new hope at Everton

I recently saw an amusing video online in which a group of Everton fans were rebuked in jest for being hopeful.  Football fans in general tend to swing between excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, but for many it seems that moaning is in their bloodstream (Spurs fans probably take the trophy).  However, Everton fans have had plenty to moan about on and off the pitch.   Let’s hope that a new era is about to begin for this grand old club. Everton’s 2023/24 financial results covered a fairly momentous season, when they ended up 15th in the Premier League, though they would finished three places higher if they had not received an 8-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR). It was a worrying time for Everton fans, as the club faced a “perfect storm” of issues, including large financial losses, an ever increasing debt burden, a challenging stadium build and the tortuous sale of the club. There were eve...
Post a Comment
Read more