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Plenty of interest in acquiring Everton

Everton Football Club’s creditors are battling to buy the Premier League side from its British-Iranian owner Farhad Moshiri, in the latest twist following the collapse of 777 Partners’ takeover deal.

Stockbroker entrepreneur Andy Bell and property magnate George Downing are competing against US firm MSP Sports Capital to enter exclusive talks with Moshiri, said people with knowledge of the matter. While Bell, Downing and MSP are central figures because of the loans they have provided to help fund the club’s new stadium, the people told the Financial Times that Everton has received other investment proposals.

BDT & MSD Partners, the merchant bank and investment firm, is ready to provide financing to the club as part of a takeover, said people with knowledge of the matter. The US bank has not agreed to back either of the creditors yet, those people said, but is willing to support the most credible buyer.

US insurance group Advantage Capital Holdings, a big lender to 777, has made a separate proposal, said a person with knowledge of the matter. Bloomberg earlier reported A-Cap had offered to refinance all of Everton’s existing debt and take a minority equity position, with Moshiri retaining a majority stake.

MSP, Bell and Downing are among the investors that have provided about £160mn in loans to help finance the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium. Rights and Media Funding, which has also financed clubs in Spain’s La Liga, is another lender.

Everton’s net debt increased to roughly £330mn at the end of June 2023 from £141mn a year earlier. Those figures do not include the debt associated with A-Cap and 777.

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