NYT: Everton back on the market as 777 Partners takeover stalls

Personally, I think next season will be challenging but we've got to be an easier sell with the immediate threat of relegation receding…

New bidders looking to replace 777 Partners would have to undergo all the Premier League owner's tests and would set us back in terms of timeline presumably. Though of course that may be preferable to owners who are skint!

My worry is that, if 777 Partners fall away entirely, it begins to make administration look a more likely scenario… but it's difficult to know without any idea of what other parties may be interested.

Now's our chance to bankrupt a nation.

1. With Everton's survival in the Premier League looking more possible after yesterday's result, maybe Moshiri feels he can get a better deal for himself and his 'handlers'.

2. Everton Football Club's name being mentioned in a prestigious news portal like NYT (although I don't care for it myself) means that it could potentially catch the eyes of more billionaires.

Just thinking out loud from an Indian perspective, why wouldn't one of India's top billionaires like Ambani not be interested in buying out Everton?

Sure, it is not as glamorous a name as the usual Sly 6 suspects, but when you get a chance to put your finger in the lucrative Premier League bandwagon through a club with such strong legacy, combined with the fact that it should be available for an investment (purchase plus further funding) that would be a fraction of what it would take to buy one of the other clubs, it sounds like a no-brainer to me!

"With Everton's survival in the Premier League looking more possible after yesterday's result, maybe Moshiri feels he can get a better deal for himself and his 'handlers'."

Ajay, that's interesting. Paul the Esk in one article argued that an MSP deal would imply Moshiri's stake would end up as 44.1% with a nominal value of £139m – significantly more than 777 Partners have agreed with Moshiri.

Better get my pension out of the stock markets, Everton could start a whole new global financial crisis.

We just need some dosh to be able to bring in some quality next season instead old-timers on freebies and rejects on loan.

Trump always seems to come up with invisible money can someone give him a call. Oh, I forgot, he's busy at the moment.

In all fairness, he has stuck to his guns regarding 777 Partners for ever it seems. Too long in reality for me because it has become a joke now, the length of time it has taken with no-one really knowing where it was going, except that 777 Partners seemed less able, and therefore less likely to complete, as time wore on. I just hope that this change of tack by Moshiri pays dividends and doesn't make matters worse – assuming the NYT report is pukka, that is.

There must be a White Knight out there somewhere.

And if your name happens to be either Moorad or Najafi, I will jump over the moon. C'mon, MSP. We're waiting…

I must confess that I am getting tired of one conspiracy theory after another, North Wharf Road crew this and North Wharf Road crew that.

It's embarrassing and not very smart to be honest.

And taking the trouble to sit down with Deloitte suggests that 777 Partners are not a fundamental part of these talks. If 777 Partners need a partner, it is up to them to hunt high and low for one, not Moshiri, unless, of course, 777 Partners have tight ties to Usmanov who pulls Moshiri's strings.

777 Partners are not ideal owners, and I don't buy into their multi-club model as they are not financed to run it. I doubt they would retain control beyond 3-5 years.

Improve the value of the asset and then sell it will be their aim.

This sounds like our time has finally come. Mr Oil Baron, Sheikh yer stick, whoever you are, if you've got deep pockets, come on down to Goodison Park and have us feasting at the top table again. I'm praying let this be true.

I don't take seriously claims of Moshiri's wealth. Never say never but he has made it abundantly clear he doesn't want to put another penny in and I think because he has reached his own personal safety margin. The interest on some of our loans is crippling.

It remains the case that the only way this works is if all 4 parties involved can agree between them how big a haircut each will take. Even if you take every penny of Moshiri's money to zero, we are still in debt for around £550m and, for a loss-making club without a serious plan to reverse that, it is a lot more than we are worth.

I was over there recently and talking to a couple of switched-on locals in Udaipur around the subject of Everton.

Two things seemed clear to me – the level of consumer interest in the Premier League and football generally is still limited over there relative to cricket.

However, youngsters are starting to be drawn to it via
the media – so who knows? India's population has recently outstripped China as the largest on the planet and is predominantly young with a rapidly emerging middle class.

On that basis, who knows? Surely the commercial potential is huge but my guess is any investor would look at Europe as well.

Let's hope Deloitte's net is cast wider than Bill's was.

MSP will have been put off by the amount of debt we've accumulated since they were seriously interested in coming on board last year.

Buying us now is much more expensive given we're £160m deep with 777 Partners so right now it looks as though they just want to get the money back to their investors rather than take on the hundreds of millions of debt currently weighing EFC down.

Which is a shame because, like Mike G, I'd have welcomed savvy operators like Najafi and Moorad – people who know money and how to operate sporting operations.

Hope I’m wrong but surely any interested buyers with any genuine positive feeling towards Everton by now would have come forwards. Feels like it’s just a battle between sharks and other distressed buyers.

Sam @29 If MSP converted their loan into equity they would be in danger of losing it all if we go into administration. It makes sense in the short term to leave it as a loan.

The Bermuda Money Authority have given the Reinsurer 777 a - c credit rating effectively cutting of 777 Partner's main source of FundsThe backers and Investors of Re Insurer will never be known, because of being in the Bermuda Tax haven.

Also there still needs investment to finish the new stadium, and its hard to see how anybody would be interested in taking over a debt laden club. We don't have a world wide fanbase like some of the top 6 clubs, so its hard to see how anybody could see a way of getting any of their outlay back in a reasonable timescale. Also if 777 withdraw their offer who funds the day to day expenditure as well as pumping in the money to finish the stadium.

Ed #30, agreed. Any interested buyer at this point, not just MSP, would be wise to ensure that administration could be avoided. MSP certainly is under no time pressure to make a move, assuming they still want to.

Neil #36, that wasn't "somewhat" mocking, it was appropriately derisive, absolutely elegant and definitely Young's best finish in years. He posted (with two "wink" emojis) that he was listening to an “Old Skool tune” by Justin Timberlake -- Cry Me A River.

I loved it.

We could even find some wealthy Switzerland owners and within a year, Switzerland would come out of a neutral country and end up in some war.

How can a team win the league twice moments before WWI and WW2, finally get a sugar daddy, and then war breaks out with Russia? I really would have got paranoid had we won the league in 1982.

The way 777 Partners are going, might be worth giving the guy in the bedsit a ring, sounds like he has more money than them.

The sooner we get away from Goodison and the dreaded curse, the better.

Is it possible that investors would be put off by P&S rules due to the fact that they could not actually invest too much into a sleeping giant because they are not allowed to?

Bidders please form an orderly queue.

The way things are thrashed out in these contexts tend to assure that administration won't happen.

There are quite a few vested interests here including a sanctioned Rusky. Shell Companies-R-Us being still on standby.

I'm still waiting for that little twist with regards there being an Everton connection, Sam @29, but I've been waiting a very long time, although losing 777 Partners has suddenly helped me feel a lot more relaxed about the future of our club,

For years, we haven't heard a peep from Wyness, not until Kenwright died, then suddenly he reappears as the font of all things Everton. Could be his NDA died at the same time, I suppose. If it did, spill the beans...

I figure anyone with that kind of money has laundered a lot of it and funded a few kidnappings along the way.

Surely, we can clear our debts for less than £1B and own a state-of-the-art stadium.

It might not be London but as sure as hell we can catch up to Chelsea in the income stakes over a few years.

At the moment he is funding Everton with other peoples money. Remind you of anybody.

I'm just hoping someone with decent pockets and some acumen take over.

But I think Jonathan has the right of it @52 – anyone who can pay off the debt, fund the stadium, and not have a player fire sale works for me!

For that you get a Premier League club and a state of the art stadium. Plus Premier League and TV revenue of about US$220M a year for a mid-table placing and whatever you get in gate receipts, stadium naming rights, and other matchday income.

From that you have to fund your operating costs and player purchases.

This is just furthering the purgatory of the club with the future remaining unknown.

If there is anyone who fancies taking the club on, they need to find a way to make the club both profitable and competitive. They cannot just pump money in so they will have to get more revenue coming in. A season ticket at the new stadium is likely to cost way more than Everton season tickets currently do.

I've never ‘fancied' 777 Partners but I've not seen an indisputable reason to dismiss them out of hand. The multi-club model had the potential to have some interesting pooling of resources with EFC as the flagship brand. Big fish in a small pond maybe, but currently EFC aren't otherwise big enough to attract top investment.

Hopefully there is a multi-billionaire somewhere out there who has merely been biding their time knowing this opportunity would eventually present itself.

Otherwise, the club's inexorable decline will simply continue for an indeterminate amount of time.

Another thought is nothing has ended up in Court yet, hopefully we do not have that to look forward to.

There must be a reason why Usmanov only wants to sell to certain people, but hopefully another one of those NDAs that the person he purchased Everton from, was famous for should suffice!

Everton is basically a start-again project from the gutter. No-one on ToffeeWeb knows how deep the gutter is. But it is very deep with what is now coming out in the wash, which seems to be quite desperate.

Those involved will be happy to be there feeling there is potential value for them in it. Moshiri increasingly looks like nothing more than a figurehead who will get into bed with anyone.

We are simply in too much debt and also sadly not a big enough name anymore.

At the same time, who would want them as partners with their track record and lack of cash?

Hate to mention it but, in the murky world of high finance, there are a lot of situations that bewilder us, as the average Joes. How has Donald Trump, who has been bankrupt several times (allegedly) bounced back to where he came from? Furthermore, how did he become President of the US?

Sorry for that analogy, but I think most fans just want an honest take-over (if such a deal exists) and a gradual rebuild to where we think we should be!

I still think the guy in the bedsit is a better option than 777 Partners.

It may take a couple of decades to recover from this mess.

It's hard to get excited about an owner who can't finance the purchase without borrowing but it's really worrying when the potential owner can't even easily access the finance to do the deal.

What or who is the problem, the asset being acquired or the potential owner?

I don't see anyone wanting to acquire it for $1.5B or anything even close. We are loss-making at an operating level and even the most optimistic forecasts for extra stadium revenue would not change that into an entity that would be worth close to that amount.

I'd say even $500M is a push.

There are some interesting lines in the BBC piece – Everton search for investment to complete 777 deal – that seem counter to some of the thoughts being expressed in this thread:

Sources close to British-Iranian businessman Moshiri have told BBC Sport they remain "working on completing the deal with 777".

Mind you, they've said that or similar all along and we still seem no closer!

"It is understood there are no other parties waiting in the wings to take over should the deal fall through and the focus is fully on 777."

Don't read that bit, Tony. It's obviously just a lie.

"777 says it can stump up the £158m that is owed to MSP and once that is settled, it is felt the deal should be completed soon after."

So… still kicking that can down the road…

That is why I suggested a buyer like the person whose name has been removed from my post. Someone who has more money than they know what to do with.

It’s got me bamboozled. Classic comment from Derek @ 65 :-

“Hate to mention it but, in the murky world of high finance, there are a lot of situations that bewilder us, as the average Joes.”

If there were any other interested parties, would part ownership attract them? I suspect not.

I expect to see MSP redeem their loan as agreed, and the future remains very uncertain. Nothing to celebrate yet.

We would have to look at things and discuss a bit more, after asking for more information.

Only Everton could drag this on for so long.

This nightmare must end.

With the winnings I'll buy the club, clear the debt and re-sign Lucas Digne.

Any other requests?

Darn! Being an Evertonian will be the end of me!

We need serious people.

My guess is they... allegedly haven't, can't or won't pay the leases on their planes for next month, quarter or year — scraping up cash for the £158M to pay off MSP?

Don't shoot the messenger, especially because it was on that awful “Goodison News”, but isn't it about time people in high places started asking why 777 Partners are good for Everton?

"There's not a queue of people waiting" would probably be the answer, but we have had to listen to these type of untruths for a very long time now so I think it's about time we became a lot more vocal for the good of our great club.

There's another 777 investment, Flair Airlines in Canada, on the brink of bankruptcy. They're currently paying 777 back at 18% interest. It seems everything they touch …..

If Moshiri thinks it's right for us then based on his track record it obviously isn't.

Pete Neilson @ 103; 777 is not good for Us, it's the best deal Moshiri can get for himself – we're thrown under the bus.

They would turn us into a super club if that's what we want.
Really, we just want an owner who is financially stable with some nous and knowledge about football.