Premier League club Everton FC: Tens of millions sunk in the Mersey

For several years, Everton Football Club has been fighting a double relegation battle. The founding member of the Premier League is desperately trying not to sink into the Mersey River, both in sporting and financial terms. Under the ownership of the British-Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri, the club, which has long operated beyond its means, has become heavily indebted and was deducted eight points last season for repeatedly violating the league’s financial rules. Despite this, the Toffeeswho could also be called “survival artists”, always somehow manage to stay afloat. In the 2022/23 season, for example, Everton only managed to avoid relegation on the last matchday.

This season, the team of robust coach Sean Dyche, who are actually too good to be in the relegation zone, are once again stuck at the bottom. But now, at least financially, it looks as if Everton actually has a solid lifeline in sight after more than two years of searching for an investor. The investor was not thrown out by the investment team 777 Partners, as was envisaged in writing exactly a year ago, but by the Friedkin Group.

On Monday, Everton FC announced that the Friedkin Group had reached an agreement with Blue Heaven Holdings, through which Moshiri holds his 94 percent of the shares, on the terms for the purchase of the club. As always, the transaction is subject to approval by several supervisory bodies, the Premier League, England’s Football Association and the British Financial Conduct Authority. However, this time – in contrast to the lack of approval for 777 Partners – the ratification of the deal is unlikely to be an obstacle and will be completed soon. Behind the US company is Hollywood film producer and stunt pilot Dan Friedkin, 59, who took it over from his father. He had once built up the family’s billion-dollar fortune by distributing Toyota cars.

The entry of the Friedkin Group, which also owns Serie A club AS Roma and the French fourth division club AS Cannes, was made possible by a purchase agreement between Moshiri and 777 Partners that expired at the end of May. Shortly before, it had been reported that Miami-based 777 had commissioned a team of restructuring experts to assist with “various operational challenges”. The traditional club Everton was considered the most valuable antique in 777’s football portfolio, which has acquired several historic clubs from various countries in recent years, including the struggling German second division club Hertha BSC.

In the spring, Everton recorded a huge loss for the sixth time in a row

Richard Masters, the chief executive of the Premier League, announced in May 2024 that the league had made it “very clear” to 777 what conditions would have to be met for an Everton takeover. He added tellingly at the time that observers of the case could draw their “own conclusions”. The Premier League was demanding that 777 pay off Everton’s costly loans and provide funding to complete the new stadium under construction at Bramley Moore Docks. The arena is one of the venues for the 2028 European Championships in Great Britain and Ireland. As a result of the agreement with Moshiri, 777 had invested a total of approximately £200 million in the club in the form of loans between September 2023 and May 2024, which was used, among other things, to cover ongoing operating costs. In the spring, Everton recorded a huge loss for the sixth year in a row, amounting to £90 million for the 2022/23 season.

However, the 777 payments proved to be another serious problem for the club after the contract was terminated: The Friedkin Group broke off initial talks with Moshiri in the summer, reportedly because there were uncertainties about the origin of the 777 cash injections. In the new rapprochements, the Friedkin Group is said to have now concluded an agreement on the loan with the insurance group A-Cap, one of the alleged main financiers of 777. Several media outlets have written that A-Cap apparently secured its own money lent to 777 Partners against their assets.

Friedkin also reached an agreement with Rights and Media Funding, another Everton investor, which had once provided 225 million at what was probably an enormous interest rate. As part of the initially failed takeover attempt, the Friedkin Group had already pledged around 200 million. The loan, which could now be converted into equity, was used, among other things, to pay off a 158 million loan taken out for the stadium by MSP Sports Capital and two other businessmen.

A spokesman for the Friedkin Group announced that they wanted to “give stability” to the club and complete the stadium

The total value of the Moshiri-Friedkin pact is difficult to quantify. But it is almost certain that Everton’s previous owner Moshiri, who acquired almost 50 percent of the shares in 2016 and then gradually expanded them, has sunk a three-digit million sum into the Mersey. Under his leadership, the nine-time champions planned to return to the elite with daring player transfers. Now the club is proposing more realistic goals. A spokesman for the Friedkin Group announced that they wanted to “give stability” to the club and complete the stadium. They are looking forward to becoming “guardians of this legendary football club”, whose history now spans 146 years.

If the takeover goes ahead, ten of the 20 Premier League clubs would currently be run by Americans. The acquisition and supervision of well-known English clubs has become so expensive that it can now only be managed by highly wealthy investor consortiums. The backing of the Friedkin Group should help Everton FC to perhaps soon see land again in sporting terms.