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Everton’s long sale saga could be over soon.
Dan Friedkin, the U.S. billionaire who owns Italian club AS Roma, has agreed to take over current owner Farhad Moshiri’s 94% stake in the team. The deal will need approval from the Premier League, the FA, and the U.K.’s financial regulatory body.
That regulatory body, the Financial Conduct Authority, is part of why Everton has endured such a saga in trying to find new owners. The U.S. firm 777 Partners made a reported $685 million deal to become the majority owner, but the group reportedly didn’t turn over key audited statements to the regulatory body. A British company sued 777 for massive fraud in May. The next month, the bidder’s deal expired.
Other U.S. investors quickly swooped in. John Textor of Eagles Football Holdings expressed interest, but his minority ownership of Crystal Palace complicated things, because Premier League rules forbid owning multiple teams. The Friedkin Group was also in talks with the club this summer, but those fell through in July (although the company stayed on as a lender). “The parties agree it is in both their interests for Everton to explore alternative options,” the team said in a statement at the time. Friedkin largely made his money through owning all the Toyota dealerships in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, which he inherited from his father, and has a net worth of $7.6 billion, according to Forbes. His company also owns several vacation resorts and the production studio that made Killers of the Flower Moon.
But now The Friedkin Group is back, and the team confirmed the news Monday in a press release. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement to become custodians of this iconic football club,” a spokesperson for The Friedkin Group said in a statement. “We are focused on securing the necessary approvals to complete the transaction. We look forward to providing stability to the club, and sharing our vision for its future, including the completion of the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.” The size of the deal isn’t public, but The Athletic estimated that a new bid would cost nearly $300 million more now than what 777 originally offered.
All of this is happening against the backdrop of a complicated financial situation for Everton. The club was docked six points due to breaches of financial rules by losing too much money in one season. The team’s external debt is about $800 million, about $266 million of which is owed to Friedkin, according to The Athletic. The club is also currently building a new stadium to open next season, and it is having an abysmal start to the Premier League season, currently sitting in second-to-last place.
