American firm MSP Sports Capital remains firmly in the picture when it comes to potential investment into Everton, despite other groups having been linked with a full takeover move.
The New York-based investment fund have been looking at taking a minority stake in the club, believed to be between 20 and 25 per cent, since the start of the year and the company’s co-founders, Jahm Najafi and Jeffrey Moorad, along with vice-president Peter Taylor, were present at Goodison Park for the defeat by Southampton in January. They were also understood to have visited the new stadium development at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Last month it was suggested in some quarters that the interest of the firm had waned and that they were pursuing other investment opportunities, with Najafi - the second largest shareholder in the Phoenix Suns NBA team - having been linked with a potential £3bn-plus bid for Tottenham Hotspur, according to the Financial Times.
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But the ECHO has been repeatedly told by financial sources in the US that MSP have remained at the table and that talks in recent weeks between Everton owner Farhad Moshiri and his representatives with MSP had started to advance, although no timescale was given on the conclusion of any such talks.
On Monday it was claimed in Italian media, via Tutto Mercato, that one of the other parties to have held talks with Moshiri in recent months, the Miami-based 777 Partners, were working towards trying to take a controlling stake in the club.
With a portfolio of investments that includes ownership stakes in, among others, German side Hertha Berlin, Italian club Genoa, Belgian outfit Standard Liege and the British Basketball League and its top team, the London Lions, 777 Partners have an appetite for operational control of the assets where they deploy their capital. The firm are understood to want a larger stake in the club than MSP were seeking, although quite how much has not been made clear.
In an interview with City AM on Monday, one senior figure with 777, when quizzed specifically on any Everton interest, said: “We’ve done a number of football deals: 777 acquired Hertha Berlin, we acquired a Melbourne club [Victory], and there are rumours we are looking at a Premier League team, so we are in an acquisition phase.
“We are looking for interesting assets. I am spending most of my time on basketball but we’re acquisitive, we’ve been incredibly acquisitive in the sports sector and I think that’s going to continue in the near to long term future. It’s a question of how many of these things can you own before you stop doing it.
“There’s a general investment thesis around being around storied franchises, being around places where we think there’s a lot of opportunity that either hasn’t been captured or we think we can bring value.
“For sure you can apply that investment thesis to a football club if you want to in the UK. That’s about all I can say about that.”
The main figures behind 777 Partners, co-founders Josh Wander and Stephen Pasko, have been in Brazil this week for discussions around stadium developments related to another team that they own, Vasco da Gama.
The motivating factor behind Moshiri’s search for investment has been the securing of funds to help recapitalise the business and find the final tranche of funding required to complete the new stadium in time for its opening next year.
Back in January, Moshiri told the ECHO that he was not looking to sell the Toffees in response to reports that he was willing to consider offers for a full sale of the club.
With Moshiri’s desire to retain ownership of the club, a partial sale of the club to a firm like MSP would appear to be desirable. But if any such deal was struck with the New York firm then there would still need to be some considerable change implemented, with MSP, who have investment ties to FC Augsburg, AD Alcorcon, GD Estoril and SK Beveren, as well as a sizeable stake in the McLaren Formula One team, also liking to have an element of operational control. It is almost certain that they would want board representation, potentially two seats.
With the Toffees facing an uncertain future given their current battle against relegation and the charges that they were hit with by the Premier League related to allegations of breaches of profit and sustainability regulations, which the club denies and will make their case at at independent commission, the timescales of just when any kind of investment might be concluded are unclear, although talks are said to be advanced.
Other parties, as many as three as suggested by Sky Sports, are also in the picture over potential investment.
The ECHO has reached out to both 777 Partners and MSP Sports Capital for comment.
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