Who is Everton's new major shareholder?

Robert Earl has sold his shares. Kenwright and Woods have reduced their holdings and all those fans who have a few shares are part of the 50.1%.

You are right, Kenwright, Woods and all the fans are going to gang up and prevent Moshiri having a controlling interest in the club. Behave. I think (and more learned accountants out there than me) will say that if he owned >50% he would have to make an offer to buy everyone else's shares. That will cost him money and be less to invest in the club.

I thought about Bill and his relationship with the club. It is similar to your 15-year-old daughter going out on her first date. Is the guy OK? Will he rape her, molest her, change her from your innocent daughter to a prozzy? So what do you do? Do you go with them to make sure he treats her right and maintains her purity? Depends on how you are and how much you can trust the 15-year-old, hormone charged spotty youth who has arrived on the doorstep.

For all his faults, Bill wants to make sure we are not abused like Villa or Hicks & Gillette or Portsmouth. So perhaps he has been over protective and only let those of the highest standards anywhere near his precious child. So give him a break. He has now found the lad he thinks will look after his baby the best and she can look forward to a long, happy and fruitful marriage.

Rick, I have to agree with you. but if this Gentleman, is the real deal, surely it wouldn't be hard for him, to purchase a few more shares, if he had to.

It seems that Farhad, is both clever and lucky. He must also be trustworthy, if his mate gave him a 5% stake in one of his companies.

I WISH HIM WELL, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS!

A truly Momentus day...which changes EFC forever. Progress and innovation...

Viva efc, viva Mr Kenwright, viva Mr Moshiri...

It will be so interesting to see where we are headed now, but surely this is the scenario we were all hoping for.

Overseas owners would have required a leap of faith, and carried more risk. This seems perfect to me.

We have a guy who is passionate about football, he has bought into the "history" that is Everton FC. He has bags of money. He knows all about building a shiny new stadium. He has many monied contacts. He has purchased enough shares to do the job. He knows how to run a company. And contrary to some reports... he INVITED Bill Kenwright to stay involved. Win-Win?

ps: All the guys on here spouting that the "deal has been done" with the Americans... hows that one doin'?

Well at least that will make a nice change!

"A man based in the UK, who has been involved with a Premier League club previously. He has the money, he has football contacts, and he knows how it all works. Plus, he's a successful businessman."

That's a description of Bill, isn't it?

Yes, you're right (but the rest is true, isn't it?). But let's wait and see what the new guy will actually invest in players and stadium.

We have been (effectively) bought, by a guy who, for the last decade, has been part of the ownership of the most financially stable club in Europe; a club renowned for doing things 'the right way'.

A club who have been in the Champions League for 20 consecutive years, all of them under the same, universally respected manager.

This man has overseen the construction of a new stadium; has significant amounts of personal and corporate money; is saying all the right things about what it is to be an Evertonian; and he's so modest and quiet, that until yesterday afternoon, no-one, and I mean No-one, had any idea he existed....

And the down-side is....... !!

What stadium is that Nicholas? He had no involvement in Arsenal's ground move if that's what you mean. The Emirates opened in 2006.

I am far from being a xenophobe, but do feel that, as far as football is concerned, these are two very important issues, needed to provide stability for the club and the empathy of the chairman with the "other" fans feelings over the day to day issues.

Of course, like others I have fretted over the financial status of the blues and have dreamed of getting a new billionaire owner who was British, understood the game, and understood what it was to be a Blue.

It's been a long hard road, but if dreams do come true then this seems to be the fulfilment of my dream.

It's early days, of course, but this deal seems to me to tick all the right boxes and hopefully we have avoided the Blue's going down the same path that has seen the disasters that have been visited upon so many other Premier League clubs when taken over by foreign owners.

Mr Moshiri may have been born Iranian, but he is also now a Brit, a billionaire... and a Blue.

While this is the big news of the weekend, let's not forget that, although we don't play this weekend, results yesterday saw Chelsea overtake us and Stoke and West Ham pull further away from us. Unless we can string some results together in the coming weeks, this news will soon grow cold and we'll be just where we are before he came along, struggling to get out of the bottom half of the table.


The football comes first; any future plans are for the moment, just that, future plans are not the here and now.

He may or may not build the stadium from his own pocket but more likely he will underwrite the building of the stadium or at least part fund it.

The financial benefit of this is the value of his investment would be significantly bigger and more attractive to bigger investors (maybe Usmanov) once that stadium has been built.

This may be the long term plan but we are speculating on this last part. One thing that we can say is that there is a long term business reason to build a new stadium from Farhad's point of view. I can't see redevelopment of Goodison adding any value from his point of view.

It's worth more than theatre tickets.

He hasn't bought 49.9% of EFC just to sit there and do nothing. As others have said, he is business savvy; he wants to see his investment grow; he is British; BK has had dealings with him for the past 18 months and no matter what some fans on here say, it seems he has chosen carefully having looked at other options.

Welcome to EFC Mr Moshiri and may the force of the fans be with you.

Apropro absolutely nothing, BK has his own programme on Radio 2 at 10pm Tuesday, playing his favourite songs. Now let the jokes start!

Moshiri amour, distant as the Milky Way,

Moshiri amour, pretty little one that I adore...

The thought of selling our soul to some American franchise like that shower or souless shite across the park made me sick to the core... Well done, Bill – after all the bullshit, you've come good.

Everton have to keep hold of the talent they have now and consolidate by bringing in proven class players who are not just looking for big wages and an easy ride. BK has shown a lot of faith in RM but the fans are not so sure anymore.

We all look forward to the positive changes on the horizon.

Those who believe Everton can be rebuilt will have to accept that Everton could not afford to play football somewhere while it is being done.

There is no Wembley stadium to share on Merseyside. Nor are Everton's rivals and neighbours likely to give the blues the opportunity to share their revamped stadium.

However, if it does go through, I do hope Moshiri (wasn't he a character on a Nintendo game?) gets us a new stadium. That has to be first priority.

He clearly has the money to do that and would be overseeing a club that has massive earning potential once we're setup properly. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this all plays out over the next few years. Exciting times.

Seriously, though, he does sound a good fit for the club. If we had received foreign investment, then I'd have been worried about their expectations being too high and a lack of realism like with Lerner at Villa.

With this guy's Premier League experience and the ambition he seems to have, then maybe this will be the start of something special. Fingers crossed.

I suspect that the refusal of that club to give him and his pal in Red and White Holdings ANY say in the club in which they held more than 30% of the stock is what has driven him north.

I suspect he will have slightly more influence here.

Not many more passive shareholders than Bill around.

With BK still at the helm RM will remain in post!

In 2-3 yrs we will have a new stadium, new manager and an opportunity to build a title winning side.

My concern is that the current squad with a few additions will break up, and we start building again.

Please tell me I'm wrong.

However, a positive future awaits. Especially when Usminiov joins his business partner as a member of the board which neither could achieve with the Gooners.

The company (in this case EFC) gets additional funds to play with, only when there has been a disinvestment of stake like an IPO or FPO (follow-up public offering).

The only way I see the club getting more money, is if Moshiri provides additional money (over and above what he has paid for the shares) which is also matched by Bill & Co, let's say from the money they have just received, and the sum is made avilable to EFC for players or a new stadium. This arrangement looks more like a moral obligation rather than a financial committment.

News out now that the Stadium issue will be addressed and the opportunity for his stake to be increased in the future to obtain full control. Time will tell... but I wouldn't rule it out...

Part of the original breaking news was that Usmanov had purchased the shares as reported on TW.... later to be revealed that it was Moshiri via selling his Arsenal Shares to Usmanov.

Patience required.

For me he his appointment ticks all the boxes. I also think he will endeavor to move out of the shadow of Usmanov with a high degree of business savvy and ambition. If you had said some weeks ago we are going to be taken over an investor with his track record and reported qualities I would have celebrating all day long.

John, please grow a pair and feel confident for once. Good for all I say with the rider that only time will tell whether his intentions are 'pure' or not. But deserves our support for now; he's paid enough for it!

Hope this is the case. :)

What are you even talking about? Where's the 'negativity' on my part?

Someone said Moshiri "has already overseen the construction of a new stadium" (meaning the Emirates), when...err...he hasn't. I simply pointed out that the poster was mistaken and the Emirates was already built and open before he became involved with Arsenal. That's it. So, being factual instead of away with the fucking fairies and making shit up is 'negative' now?

"Grow a pair?" Then what? Wear them as a fetching adornment to the fucking Pinnochio nose I would suddenly spout if I went around saying 'That's the new ground sorted in no time lid. Moshi already made the Emirates out of matchsticks and superglue and since then he's moved on to Meccano, mate'.

Second, William you say - 'Nicholas (31) and John Daley (32) sum up Evertonians for me; glass half full and glass half empty.'

There is another type - the type who is given the facts, yet chooses to believe the version that most suits their own agenda.

I'll give you an example.

In post 31, Nicholas 'informs' us - 'This man has overseen the construction of a new stadium.'

John responds - 'What stadium is that Nicholas? He had no involvement in Arsenal's ground move if that's what you mean. The Emirates opened in 2006'

John is clearly right, Nicholas is patently wrong.

But because that doesn't fit with your 'I insist on everything being lovely' version of things, you decide..

'Nicholas I am absolutely with you 100%. Not just because I think you are right but because I hope and believe you are.'

You actually say 'you are right because I hope you are.'

In a word, stagger-fuckin-ring