Moshiri signs exclusivity agreement with MSP Sports Capital

Is the deal only for investment, or is Moshri selling outright? This situation with MSP always sounded more like investment and not an acquisition to me?

Given the breach of P&S rules hanging over us, then I'd be surprised about the investment taking place. I'd guess they've had some assurances regards that too as I wouldn't want to be investing that amount of money with that hanging over us?

Fingers crossed it isn't! 🤞

I'm sure Moshri just put his eggs in the MSP basket.

Personally, I'm glad it's out there as it means something really is going on. No guarantees though that anything will come of it,

I'd also bet the investment is for the stadium, not the Club proper. With relegation looming, MSP will want a stake in the stadium asset, not an asset that could plummet come Sunday.

Just a guess. Now off to work like a dog as I know I'll be half working while the Leicester game is on this afternoon.

If you're buying an asset, you want exclusivity. It prevents the negotiations moving forward outside of good faith – there can't be any bait-and-switch before closing the deal, with another party entering in at the 11th hour and outbidding.

This gives MSP the assurance their time isn't wasted and now both parties can move forward in good faith to strike the final deal. You also never grant exclusivity without real assurance the deal will ultimately go through. Both parties have likely negotiated and have a deal in principle, with minor details to be hammered out.

This is real news, and solidifies the deal in principle. It's also good news as the Club can hone in on the deal and move forward knowing its financial position.

Say what you want about Moshri, the dude definitely needs to stay out of footballing decisions. But he's renovated Finch Farm, bought the Liver Building, and built a new stadium for Everton. Financially, he's backed the Club without question.

I don't like our current predicament or the footballing decisions that have again placed us in a ridiculous precarious position. But he's backed the Club financially to the hilt and made some serious, very worthwhile investments.

Golly... just like a real-life match-going owner. Whatever next?

We have had quite a few individuals and entities 'invest' in us and not in a good way. I seem to recall the level of interest rates applied at the time to those 'investments'.

File this one in pending.

MSP look to have jumped ahead of 777 Partners, who have been in talks over a takeover from owner Farhad Moshiri.

MSP are believed to be looking for a 25% stake with a preferential share structure, not equity in the club, so would be paid back in interest.

777 have had access to the 'data room' (financial accounts), but have not been prepared to pay a 'significant' price as they have looked at the debt on the balance sheet - which stood at 𧵅.7M in the latest accounts.

In February, Moshiri told the Fans Advisory Board the club was "not for sale" but he had been talking to "top investors of real quality".

The club requires funding for their new stadium, which is being built on Bramley-Moore Dock, after costs increased from 𧺬M originally to about 𧾰M.

"MSP are believed to be looking for a 25% stake with a preferential share structure, not equity in the club, so would be paid back in interest."

What does that mean in layman's terms?

Didn't we have a similar exclusivity deal with Kenyon's group this time last year?

If (and it's still a big 'if') we do stay up, we're going to need a new team... so where is the money for that coming from?

" With MSP Capital this means we could see what, 2 or 3 new directors on Evertons board"

Fuck off, Kenwright !!!!

The earlier report suggested an initial Investment of 𧴡m. Would that even be enough to finish the stadium?

The rumoured state of the Club's finances suggest much more will be needed. A complete takeover by someone with deep pockets and a strong stomach might be preferable.

"Bill is Everton through and through and oh, by the way, I've sold the Stadium naming rights to the Liverpool Echo. It's going to be called the Liverpool City Stadium, that's okay isn't it?"

Moshiri is going to royally take the piss with this sale.

I think we need a billion quid to steady the ship... but by the sounds of things, the accounts are such a mess, we'd need more.

Oh and rumours Doucouré is staying another year...

You don't 'invest' in troubled concerns, you snap them up at bargain prices and offer them loans at crippling rates of interest.

No doubt the media team will put a positive spin on things but, for me, unless Moshiri and Kenwright have no further influence on the club, it will not be a satisfactory situation.

Jahm Najafi and Jeff Moorad are pros. They know what they are doing. Najafi, a minority owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, is an international investor and philanthropist with a Harvard MBA.

But the guy to be excited about is Moorad. He started out as a massively successful player agent and moved into international sports investment management. He is one of the smartest sports law and business people we could have hoped to find -- he will provide exactly the expertise Everton desperately needs and will suffer none of the fools in our boardroom.

Just as important, these are principled, honorable people -- no dirty deals, no dirty money, no unsavory associations. They will be appropriate custodians of the Everton tradition.

Make it happen.

Thats good to know. There are so many dodgy characters involved in sport these days, it is rare to find the good ones.

From what you sa, these are in the positive group but I still worry how much time they will have to spend at Everton with all of their other interests.

I'd like to invite him to exert significant influence on our train-wreck of a club please.

It's like expecting us to be confident that Holgate can do a job at left-back.

I am sure with MSP being an American-based company you would probably have greater insight as to what they are like as a company. I did read some weeks back that they were interested in making a bid to takeover Spurs – has that now cooled seeing they have an exclusivity deal with Everton?

I know they have interests in McClaren racing and other sporting clubs; how successful have these clubs performed since the interest from MSP?

Joe Lewis values Spurs at over ٢ billion so it didn't progress.

But right now, let's just beat Bournemouth.

Then we vent and rant about what that have done to us and put us through and get them out.

Early on in negotiations it was rumoured when a MSP deal was possible that the Board was initially advised that there positions would end, but then when the interest of MSP appears to wane the Chairman announced at a Board Meeting that they would be staying on.

If ever there was a Club that needed Professional Management , Everton must be top of this list.

So... MSP get a stake at 25%... the worse case - we go down, go into admin and they can pick the club up with an administrative sleight of hand for next to nothing. Of course, I don't see how that helps Moshiri or the stadium build...

You can get a copy on eBay for a penny.

And potential for Kenwright leaving too. I'm going to try to remain positive – it's difficult… but feels gentler on my mental health.

Or you buy in now for a minority share (assuming they will acquire the private stock / some equity) and wait to see what happens?

Everton stay up, steady the ship, revenue increase coming when the stadium is done.

Everton go down, you have equity and the right to buy more shares, the value of said shares just dropped through the basement, and viola! You own a Championship club on the cheap!

Maybe that's the thinking?

That's very relieving to know. And echoed by Lyndon shortly thereafter quells any fears I had of MSP.

The 777 thing had me in knots. I didn't like the "vibe" of that situation at all.

Perhaps Moshri really does have Everton's best interests at heart? Bringing in ethical, sound businessmen with a sports background seems the best option surely.

Brent 27, Their hamstrings will be fine, purse-strings may be a bit tight though.

I cant believe that Moshiri and Kenwright will want to stay around though, it has to be obvious to them that they are not wanted, Kenwright especially.

Its all a worrying mess, which will only get worse if we go down.

It's going to be a very long week, and speculating about our future is only going to make this week go even slower, especially if there's a chance that the man, who has done more damage to Everton FC, than any other living Evertonian, has a chance of retaining any kind of position in “our club”

However, if you're gauging success by whether MSP runs Everton up the table, I think that will only happen if Moorad can play striker. And from having interviewed him once, I remember him being about my age. 67.

Jamie #48, I've always been convinced Moshiri has had the club's best interest at heart. He simply doesn't have the ability to run a football club or hire people who can. Hopefully he does have the ability to pick the right people to sell to.

Nigel #44, I can absolutely guarantee you that any such investment from MSP will include at least a couple of seats on the board. I'm not sure about forcing anybody out, but it'll certainly get some desperately needed new blood in.

I don't see that £105 million really helps out much in the way of stadium finance, but it would be handy to buy some decent players or to stave off P&S sanctions.

Unless Moshiri has given his voting proxy to Kenwright. In which case we're still doomed.

The board and owner stay. Not what I was hoping for but its an improvement on where we are. It's not a Saudi buyout which is what I would like to see.

All eyes to Sunday. Leicester & Leeds will win. We have to win.

That is the real question in this deal. The stadium company is well run with good management, looking for more funds. The football company is run badly and is again looking for funds. Paul the Esk says that in the accounts the two are connected.

There is no clearly defined role regarding the possible funds injected by MSP.I t is speculated that this would be a loan converting to equity, but not ordinary shares. It is unclear where these funds would end up, eg funding the new stadium or the playing staff of the club going forward.

There is speculation that MSP would have a role in running the club. The current Board may not turn up at Goodison, but they still exist. There are leaked stories that Moshiri has been looking at board changes since March.

Finally, is Moshiri really on his financial uppers, with no access to money, or is that money inaccessible? Moshiri's main attribute has been his ability to move money around. He has not been accused of anything in regard to his Russian friends, other than by the highly speculative Mail that seems to change its tune daily.

To get involved in that board of ours and root out those who have misguided our club to the position (both on and off the field) we're in now.

Someone said, and I agree, that Moshiri wants our club to do well, but just didn't know how to run a football club. Or, more to the point, how to allow others to run it for him.

As long as Moshiri and Kenwright are gone, frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

If Moshiri stays, and MSP start running the club properly, that'd do me.

Its a smokescreen pic.twitter.com/c6ZpBQg6Tg

— Nick Williams (@nickwillo4efc) June 15, 2022

𧴡 million won't be enough to complete the stadium unless it acts as seed money to give confidence to others to invest.

I see it as being used to keep the P&S wolf from the door.

Their presence on the Board does not indicate that they will have an involvement in the running of the football club as everybody is assuming. They however need to be on the Board to ensure everything runs smoothly at the new stadium project as that is where their interest (and money) lie.

So Uncle Bill and his friends will continue to do their worst in the short term at least.

I may have got the wrong end of the stick here but if you consider that Moshiri has always said that he was only interested in funding for the completion of the new stadium, these thoughts may not be a million miles away from the truth. Unfortunately. Finally, I do hope that I am wrong.

I look at Eddie Howe, an Everton boy, and when you look at what he did at Bournemouth and now what he has done at Newcastle, I scratch my head and ask myself "Why did the luvvie not want him?"

Or perhaps he did and Moshiri didn't see him as high profile enough. For sure there have been opportunities to get him which as a club we overlooked.

I might not rate Dyche, but I also don't envy him having to select a right-back and having Iwobi or Holgate as options. Okay, Keane was an unusual and abysmal choice, but it's not like he had a good option available.

Howe would have failed at Everton like many before him. And his career would be in the toilet.

Smart managers steer clear of Everton. So we get the ones after a quick quid.

Yes to a bit of financial stability and better business practices – and I hope MSP can do that.

I tend to agree with your sentiments re Eddie Howe but, by the same token, the Newcastle he took over weren't exactly moving mountains, were they?

By all accounts, he has really had them putting in prodigious efforts on the training ground and I don't think he has made that many new signings.

He did a good job at Bournemouth with not much in the way of investment. Maybe we should have gone for him a couple of years ago!

US investment firm 777 Partners have moved on from Everton

So it's MSP or nothing.

He seems to only trust fellow Iranians. I wonder if Kia Joorabchian has anything to do with this?

Although Sean Dyche may not have been my choice to take over from Lampard, I believe he should be given time to carry on his work of changing the mentality of the club.

He might not play like Lampard and Silva and Martinez but none of their styles were very successful, mainly because they tried to play like Guardiola's Man City but without the talent to do it.

The old adage of "play to your strengths" is still true today as it's always been. Under Dyche, we are not losing possession on the edge of our own box because we had become obsessed with trying to play out from the back.

I think we as fans have to have a reset as to what is and isn't achievable over the next few seasons. We haven't used the money that Usmanov & Moshiri pumped in very well and they didn't invest their time in our club to make it work. So, even if MSP do become at some stage our new owners, they are not in the same financial position as were our present owners.

With Newcastle having the Saudi Royal Family funding them, they will be another club in the mix to challenge for trophies.

While many of the protest groups have quite rightly pointed out how long it's been since we last won a trophy, I think we have to set our sights on what is possible, rather than expecting us to be competing for trophies. I think if we can comfortably be anywhere between 7th and 11th, that's an improvement.

We don't know what sort of side Dyche wants or his style of play because so far he hasn't brought in a single player. So, rather than change again, let's give Dyche the time to rebuild this club on his mantra of "minimum requirement is maximum effort", which isn't a bad starting place. If we can add quality to that mantra, then that's when real improvement will happen.

A funny old saying "Money isn't everything". in our case, that's been glaringly proven to be a true saying!

I can never understand why Moyes is castigated by so many on here – he saved us from certain relegation when he took over from Walter Smith and, while he won no trophies we were most seasons in and around 7th.

I see many fans talking about Roberto Di Zerbi at Brighton and Thomas Frank at Brentford, both being hailed for the jobs they have done, but Moyes did this year on year and, just like Brighton, had to sell his best players to keep the club afloat financially.

I could imagine the response if Everton had gone for Di Zerbi when Lampard was sacked – our fan base would have gone apoplectic. He had no great CV, joined Sassuolo in 2018 who finished 8th in the league, then went to Shakhatar Donetsk winning the Ukrainian Cup before leaving when Putin invaded Ukraine.

But as much as I am a romantic soul, I am also a realist occasionally. But always an optimist.

It is going to take years to repair the damage done to the club and lack of over decades. Since 1987 or 1970. Pick your decade.

Chelsea didn't happen overnight. Man City took a long time. Liverpool's recent success over years.

Fix the immediate problem. Fix the roof. Then build for the future. Literally with the stadium rising above the Mersey.

Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say.

With the possibility of, whatever league we're in, being left with bugger-all to spend because of fines and/or points deducted because of the situation this Board has left us in?

Good points, Brian, and good info about Di Zerbi. (I'd never heard of him!) Some of the players Moyes bought were absolute bargain basement who turned out to be gems and kept us afloat.

I think Moyes thought things would never change at Everton, so he left. Can't blame him, it was getting like Groundhog Day, maybe for all of us. But looks preferable to the mess that's been made in the last 7 years.

A lot of things could change after Sunday and then there's the investigation to come, so you're right about what is possible and what is achievable, being our only option, unless and until massive money comes in and buys us... hopefully!

Unfortunately for those who were hoping to see a full takeover, and a new broom sweeping out all before it, including our moribund 'C-Level' management personnel and their hangers-on. That's assuming MSP Capital are still in for 25% and 𧴡M, with a potential ineffectual place or two on the board.

As for the rest of the clowns who have overseen our journey to this parlous place, it could well be "as you were" and "Carry on Cratering".

I'm afraid I see it that way too, we'll likely replace the CEO and lose Sharp as a board member, but I can see the Chairman remaining in place at least until the stadium is built. Moshiri will obviously want to complete a sale at a later more advantageous date for himself, or his mate is calling the shots and rich people always have time on their side.

Whatever happens, it will be a few more years of make-do-and-mend, due to FFP and or P&S. Most focus from the men in suits will be on completing the stadium and using that to raise the commercial profile of the club, whilst the first-team squad, unless we get lucky with loans and free transfers, will not be much stronger for the next few years than we currently are. Not great for Evertonians but so much depends on what happens on Sunday.

Just to be clear I wasnt advocating the return of Moyes, my thoughts either as player or manager never go back its almost impossible to re create what you did first time around. We only have to look at Howard on his 2 returns, a huge mistake by him and the club.

I would much prefer going to a game believing we could win and if we didnt our players would be giving 100% as happened with Moyes, and other than Carlo the others just didnt have the ability to get this club anywhere near the 7thish we used to finish under Moyes. I dread who Moshiri would appoint if he sacks Dyche than that really makes me shudder.