Everton takeover delayed further with 777 Partners left in dark over Premier League approval
The Toffees are awaiting confirmation from the Premier League, with the American investment firm loaning the club money to build their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock
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Your support makes all the difference.777 Partners are unsure when their takeover of Everton can be completed after hopes it will be concluded by the end of February were dashed by the Premier League.
The American investment firm is unsure what the timeline for the drawn-out deal is now as they wait for approval from the Premier League.
They are in the process of addressing some additional questions that arrived from the Premier League at the end of last week.
777’s buyout from current owner Farhad Moshiri, to end his turbulent era at Goodison, was approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in December while the FA have also given their assent.
However, the Premier League requires further information before allowing 777 to pass the owners’ and directors’ test.
In September, 777 signed a deal with Moshiri to acquire his 94.1 percent shareholding in Everton and then aimed to complete the deal by Christmas.
In January, in a parliamentary hearing, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said they were “weeks, hopefully” away from a decision as to whether to allow the takeover to proceed.
In the meantime, 777 have loaned Everton money the club need to build their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock while the 777 co-owner Josh Wander was at Monday’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
However, 777’s multi-club model – with stakes in clubs including Genoa, Hertha Berlin, Standard Liege and Vasco da Gama – has brought scrutiny on issues at some of the rest of their portfolio. Both Vasco da Gama and Standard Liege were given transfer bans for failing to make payments.
Meanwhile, one of 777’s subsidiary companies – 777 Re, a Bermuda-based reinsurance firm – had its credit rating downgraded by the agency AM Best, who said the balance sheet was weak.
This week, Everton expect to hear the result of the appeal against their 10-point penalty for breaching Profitability and Sustainability Rules by £19.5m. However, they face a second independent commission for breaching FFP, with the club themselves yet to hear from the Premier League the scale of the apparent breach.
While 777 wait, Manchester United investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe passed the owners’ and directors’ test, clearing him to complete his purchase of 25 percent of the club’s shares.
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