Everton’s owner, Farhad Moshiri, is in advanced talks with the American investment firm 777 Partners over a potential majority purchase of the Premier League strugglers.
The Miami-based firm, which already owns several clubs in Europe including Genoa, Standard Liège and Hertha Berlin, held talks with Moshiri over acquiring a 25% stake in Everton earlier in the summer before they entered a period of exclusivity with MSP Sports Capital.
Those negotiations collapsed last month amid opposition from an existing Everton lender, Rights and Media Funding Limited, although MSP are reported to have provided a £100m loan to help fund the building of the new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium.
The Guardian understands that 777 Partners has returned to the negotiating table with a view to a full takeover of the club, having made no secret of their desire to invest in a Premier League side since making their first foray into football by purchasing a minority stake in the Spanish club Sevilla in 2015. The owners Joshua Wander and Steven Pasko are believed to have met Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners over a potential investment in Newcastle and also held talks with the Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly this year.
But despite Everton being winless after four matches of the new season and facing an independent commission next month for an alleged breach of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules, 777 Partners is believed to be confident in making the nine-time league winners the latest club to join its growing network. That is now led by Don Dransfield, the former chief strategy officer for City Football Group, and also includes stakes in the Brazilian club Vasco da Gama and the Australian club Melbourne Victory, as well as the London Lions basketball team and the British Basketball League.
Everton have been seeking outside investment for some time in order to free up finances to complete the new stadium. In January Moshiri, who has spent more than £500m on players since becoming the majority shareholder in 2016, said the club was not up for sale but admitted he was exploring funding options to cover the final stages of the £550m-plus build at Bramley-Moore which is expected to open next season. Neither Everton or 777 Partners have commented.
Any takeover would be subject to the Premier League’s owners and directors test, which was beefed up in March and enables them to block people from becoming directors if they are under investigation for conduct that would result in a “disqualifying event” if proven. There remain doubts over whether 777 Partners would pass the test having been accused of fraud and breach of contract in a civil case by Timothy O’Neil-Dunne, who worked at 777 Partners between 2018 and 2021, and before that as chief commercial officer at Flair Airlines. A statement released by 777 Partners strenuously denied the allegations.
Wander was also arrested in 2003 after being caught with 31 grams of cocaine that were sent to his address in the post, which he later admitted was for him and a friend. He was sentenced in 2004 and released on a long period of parole, which ended in 2018. 777 Partners told the Brazilian newspaper O Globo that the “single misdemeanour charge from 20 years ago” was “ancient history”. In a statement the company said: “Josh put this small incident behind him and went on to become the co-founder of 777 Partners, making it one of the most successful companies in the business.”
