Richard Masters says the Premier League has been “very clear” with 777 Partners over the conditions it must meet to complete a takeover of Everton, and that observers can draw their “own conclusions” as to why the deal has yet to be approved.
Speaking to MPs as part of the process of the government’s football governance bill, the Premier League’s chief executive acknowledged that lengthy takeover deals create tension among supporters but said the Everton owner, Farhad Moshiri, still wanted to pursue a deal with the challenged investment company.
Moshiri has surprisingly extended his sale and purchase agreement with 777 until the end of the month, despite the firm being unable to meet the Premier League’s criteria for a takeover after eight months and facing allegations of fraud in New York. The agreement had been due to expire last week.
Masters was asked by Damian Collins why the league had not rejected the 777 offer outright, amid uncertainty over the group’s finances and problems at its other clubs, and said his scope was limited. He said the league could approve a deal or leave it unapproved but could not reject it and that it was up the seller or proposed buyer to take a deal off the table or meet the league’s demands.
“Let me be clear about the Premier League’s role as regulator: it is to perform this test,” he said. “It’s not to decide who the current owner wants to sell the club to. That’s his decision and at the moment he wants to continue to have discussions with 777 about it.
“The Premier League is very clear the conditions that have to be met by 777 if it wishes to become owner of Everton. At the moment, because the takeover has not been confirmed, I’ll leave it to the committee [of MPs] to make its own conclusions as to where we are with that.”
The Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test is a hurdle potential investors must clear before being approved by the league. It includes a number of demands, many around the presentation of “acquisition materials”, a list which includes “detailed information as to … the sources of funds to be invested in or otherwise made available to the club”. 777 has been reported as needing to raise funds to complete the deal and this month it was revealed that the company has been accused of multimillion-dollar fraud in the United States. 777 has not commented publicly on the case.
Masters said that takeover deals were becoming “more complex” and were an example of why football authorities should continue to play a role in approving any deals, describing a process he likened to that of The X Factor.
“I do accept that takeovers that carry on for a long time are not good for fan certainty,” he said, “and that’s why we have a very big team of people that do nothing else than this. All I would say is that over time, particularly in the Premier League, takeovers are becoming more complex and it is not a small undertaking by the regulator to take this particular burden on. That’s why we want to remain involved in it as well. It’s very complicated and we need to make sure all those things are correct even if it takes more time.
“I do think there are some benefits of the regulator working with football authorities on this topic. It’s a bit like The X Factor and you need two green ticks to get it.”
Masters was speaking alongside the chair of the EFL, Rick Parry, with the pair continuing their public sparring over the brief of the independent regulator. Of particular concern for both men are parachute payments and whether they should fall under the regulator’s scope. Masters believes they should not, arguing that “they are a competitive balance tool … and without parachute payments the Premier League would not be competitive at the bottom end”.
Parry disagreed, describing the current exclusion of parachute payments from the regulator’s brief of ensuring financial stability as “intellectually incoherent”.
“It is interesting that solidarity payments to Championship clubs are literally pegged to parachute payments,” he said. “Defined as 11% of parachute payments, they are intertwined.
“In 2021 five Championship clubs had £233m between them [in parachute payments], and 19 received £79m in solidarity. So what we are saying is that we can apply the [regulator] and all its might to the £79m but can’t touch the £233m. That seems to be the ultimate definition of fiddling while Rome burns.”
