New international consortium join AS Roma owner as Everton suitors

There was some Everton news at the end of our newsletter about the Tour de France, Arsene Wenger etc. John Textor, who was seen as a bidder for Everton, has withdrawn from the process, according to a person familiar. Remember, though: this is a fluid situation. https://t.co/uhsCw8bFcs

— david hellier (@hellierd) June 8, 2024

I suppose on the plus side, there seems to be plenty of interest, but I just wish this would get resolved.

I suppose on the plus side, there seems to be plenty of interest, but I just wish this would get resolved.

Please explain yourself, Danny. Why are you saying this?

The figure of $591m to buy Roma was published, but Friedkin later said it was $700m. The first thing he did was hire Mourinho as manager, who won the Europa Conference League and got the club to two finals but failed to advance Roma's position in Serie A (they finish 6th every year).

Roma fans were shocked and angered by Friedkin's sudden sacking of The Special One in January 2024, but they cheered his hiring of Daniele de Rossi, and he has done well.

Friedkin also stabilized Roma financially, cutting debt and costs dramatically and elevating revenues, primarily by sending the club on tour in Japan and elsewhere. Pulling in big stars like Rom (21 goals) and Dybala attracted attention and ticket sales.

Friedkin also owns a 4th tier French club, AS Cannes, and therefore seems to be an adherent of the multi-club business model.

Onwards Evertonians.

This fella might just bring in the Insufferable One, and we all know what that means, these days.

It's down to Moshiri to make a decision. But just make one.

Now apparently also MSP, who also did not want it. Now the AS Roma boss, too. Where was all this interest when we had to suffer 777 Partners [in alleged crime]?

I just hope that Moshiri, in taking what's best for him, doesn't take what's not best for Everton.

He's done it before with English clubs. Most recent WBA.

Three bids for Everton:

🌍 £400m offer from global group led by tech investor Vatche Manoukian

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿/🇺🇸 Bell & Downing, w/ £350m financing from BDT & MSD
🇺🇸 New group led by MSP

🇺🇸 Multi-clubbers Textor & Friedkin mulling it over
No bid from A-CAP

Just now...

I agree with you if the multi-club owners are simply using the assets to create a wicked Ponzi scheme.

This fella ain't that, my friend. He's done a marvelous job at Roma and would be an excellent owner for Everton. His track record is superlative in just about any business venture he's engaged in.

The problem is not only will they have to buy Moshiri's shares, possibly pay off loans, and provide working capital at the rate of millions – Everton cannot go on indefinitely needing such funds, a Premier League requirement.

Everton need to be restructured and properly managed. It is only a suitor capable of that, which Moshiri has failed to do or realise. The danger is that Moshiri will take in other parties as investors and continue as he has before. What would make him change the course he has pursued so long at Everton?

This guy sounds like a nepo kid who's some sort of used car salesman. Not for me. Let's get some filthy rich owner who'll let two real Everton fans run the club for him and take us where we belong.

777 was all about Moshiri's back pocket, not Everton's well being or even continued existence; he wanted out – with maximum cash; now, I think he has to take what's out there.

The suitors now smell a deal, what sort of deal? — a 'Deal' deal.

There are... always were... lots of positives and, in these cases, debt is sometimes not the big negative it seems.

You never know, we might even get somebody who actually knows wtf they are doing.

What a novelty.

Maybe Moshiri has actually played a blinder by building a stadium on an iconic waterfront?

I think the multi-club model is probably the fastest way for us to improve but only if it is done well.

If Moshiri wants to move quick, then this guy is an outside bet as currently he's made no firm bid.

Seems like NDAs ain't like they used to be…

I care that they're competent in running the club as a successful business and are willing to delegate decision-making to people who actually know the sport, as opposed to Moshiri who was neither, and Kenwright who ran the club as his own fiefdom, with only his own interest and opinions at heart.

To use the lying sleazy impresario as your yardstick for evaluating the Evertonians we believe are in the mix to become our next owners is like comparing the speed of sound with a kopite tortoise.

Erm, they are if I might tweak your words: more than “competent” in running “a successful business”.

I don't think it would take an O-Level to see why so many place “importance [on] fanhood”. I'm sorry that it “genuinely baffles” you.

You wonder why after what we have been through – turning your luvvy droop jowls Billy Liar comparison right back at you – someone would prefer genuine Evertonians with top business acumen and achievement to take over our club?

That “genuinely baffles me”.

I don't particularly want another Greatest Ever Evertonian/s Mk II show.

I'm just skeptical, which is valid, after all we've been through. I'm happy to be wrong about this, and that Bell and Downing could be all we need.

I wouldn't say that any of my posts are that sharp anyway, Paul. :)

I know that splashing money alone from richer backers isn't everything... You only need to look at Brighton and Tony Bloom to see that a fan owning the club can work... But don't we want to be more than selling our best players and being self-sufficient??

I see the offer from the consortium led by the Armenian businessman has backers from the Persian Gulf... So that could be from Qatar, so let's hope we get more info filtered through in the coming days.

What are their plans to refinance the loans which are killing EFC? If Dell are able to do that, then I would like to see them involved.

It's what I would do in his position, given he is pretty naked right now. Big up the interest, create a fenzy...

No mate, that's the QPR model. Remember they had a whole crew of billionaire owners and all they did was argue and take it in turns to fire managers while the club spiralled downwards.

Billionaires are like Scotsmen, every good team has one but, if there's two, you're in trouble.

Dell would be the majority shareholder with Bell and Downing bringing some financial input and their knowledge of how Everton's history and fan base, that has kept us in the Premier League, just awaiting decent owners to bring success back to the club.

If he does buy us, he might have to bring Father Merrin with him to go around Goodison Park and "clean house". Get rid of Uncle Bill's presence once and for all.

Hopefully it's just a case of making the right appointments but that has been cocked-up before.

Friedkin has the advantage of a bit of a ‘track record' but will he play favourites? Hopefully being in the Premier League would give us equal status at least. I actually fancy having Roma as a ‘sister' club (and Cannes as a favourite ‘niece'). Can you imagine being able to visit Rome as an English fan and get a warm welcome (apart from the Lazio lot)? Well that is my little daydream anyway.

A personal fortune of $6 billion seems just about enough for 3 clubs. I wouldn't mind if he could bring a sponsorship deal with Toyota with him. They are on the list for potential next car.

I'm not sure I want a Textor as owner assuming his surname derives from anti-social people tapping their phones to communicate.

Denver,

The exorcist angle is actually a positive. I was puzzled by the fact he's a conservationist who owns a car company… aka hypocrite. Personally, as an Erasure fan, I'm hoping Andy Bell comes out on top.

To that point, I don't know if any of this is connected to Tony Abraham's story of American billionaires sitting with a suitcase of cash in the Titanic hotel. But I will say there were several ToffeeWeb posters — generally guys I respect — who argued against reason that we should get on board with 777 Partners despite the burning red flags as they were “the only show in town”.

Thankfully they were wrong but, in their defense, I'd say Moshiri's buttering up to the obvious Ponzi merchant Josh Wander could have convinced many that was the case. But while Paul Quinn is doing a victory lap, I'd like to point out many of us have called out 777 from Day 1. The difference being most of us just looked at public information and stated the obvious while Paul Quinn did the same while boasting some kind of inside knowledge.

Bottom line if you got past Math aged 6, then if you paid attention you realized the kidnapping, cap-wearing, accident victim exploiting sack of shit Wander was a modern version of bedsit boy Samuelson combined with Bernie Madoff.

Through luck rather than judgment we've played it well. We got this crook's last dollars to keep us afloat but did so without giving the charlatan any control, I look forward to seeing his various wire fraud trials.

It's not a question of if, just when and who?

As Tony says, the new iconic Everton Stadium is Moshiri's legacy to the club and very attractive to would be investors. Both Moshiri and those looking to buy the club know he needs to sell. He has pumped a lot of money into the club, wherever that has come from, so he will obviously want the best deal for himself. I don't think anyone wouldn't.

Let's just have a decision shortly. It doesn't mean it will happen overnight, but it would mean we keep the Premier League vultures at bay as we have a plan in place. It is a bit like compliance in my world. As long as you can demonstrate you have a plan, the auditors will sign you off.

Kieran, living where I do in West London, there are quite a few QPR supporters. I remember when they came up years ago. The club boldly claimed they would achieve Champions League status almost immediately. Many of their supporters believed the hype as they spent big and paid big wages. They eventually got relegated.

As I always say, and we should know more than most, it's not what you spend, it is how you spend it.

I’m not going to go into specifics but perhaps I’ve built up enough trustworthiness over the years that you’ll take my word for it.

I had this nightmare that 777 would collapse and we'd go into administration but there's a queue forming.

A few people reporting that Moshiri is keen to move quickly so, with any luck, we could have new owners in position sooner rather than later, so long as the bidders actually have their finances in place, unlike 777 Partners.

In my opinion, it is indeed the stadium that is primarily driving the interest. It will generate a significant amount of revenue alone. Business people will see this as a great opportunity to drive the Everton brand and wake up a sleeping giant!

Our financial situation is bad but there's always takers who think they can turn it around. Hope we really get one who knows how to run a football club.

Love your Kelly's Heroes "Deal, Deal" reference. let's hope we get some "Positive Waves" out of all this!!

It makes you wonder how many parties would have been interested if Kenwright would have agreed to step aside.

Believe, Evertonians, there are good times ahead. With new owners, new stadium, new vision, the blue bird is unfurling its wings...

It's well known that TW has a long history of patience & positivity...

It's in our DNA, we reek of it, it oozes from our very pores.

All this debt is going to need some serious restructuring. I suspect Moshiri will go with the highest bidder of cash in hand, so he can retire.

Seeing as the Premier League need to ‘approve', then it may take a while, so the likelihood is more loans coming in while we all wait.

I'm really hoping for a positive change, the drag of the last 3 years has been miserable.

But I'm worried about PSR and how we can build a competitive squad while all this is going on. It's going to be tough.

I think we've had more patience than the Royal Liverpool Hospital on a New Year's Eve!

As for positivity, well it doesn't really reek of it on this site, but let's hope all that is about to change. Whoever takes over had better do it quick because the vultures from Old Trafford are circling over Jarrad Branthwaite too low for my liking.

Moshiri also needed someone to finance the day-to-day running costs of the club this season so that he didn't have to and 777 Partners filled that requirement. He's in a stronger position to make back some of his (Usmanov's) money as a result.

Great to see two fans trying to buy us but, if successful, as sure as night follows day, a time will come when their ideas diverge.

Moshiri has done well for himself and his boss. It will make them money, get round sanctions and ultimately leave us in a good position.

Sean Dyche deserves a very big bonus for the season's work. If the Premier League had got their way, none of this would be happening.

"I care that they're competent in running the club as a successful business and are willing to delegate decision-making to people who actually know the sport."

Sounds like the Glazers at Man Utd. And look at what they've done. A leveraged buy-out, using a relatively small amount of their own money and a much bigger loan that they then immediately loaded onto the club. They didn't get involved in the sports decisions, like Moshiri, leaving that mainly to others.

When they eventually sell (the rest of) the club, it will be the club not the Glazers that carries the debt from that initial loan. The Glazers will walk away with years of dividends, low-interest (no-interest?) loans for themselves and other family members, fees for themselves

And that's before any profit from the sale. It will have cost them a small initial amount from their own pockets; with relatively little of the initial loan having been paid off, it will cost the club most of the remaining initial debt of half a billion (?).

"Competent in running the club as a successful business" – but to their benefit, not the club's.

Still a difficult last year at Goodison Park but hopefully after that the clouds lift.

What I think is most puzzling is these new possible buyers must be of the opinion that, with a new stadium, then this is a good investment. So why is Moshiri walking away when the stadium is near completion?

And yes, we all suspect that most of the money was coming from Usmanov, but surely he and Usmanov would get a better return once the stadium is complete?

I would prefer Bell and Downing with the financial backing of Dell to be our owners. I think owners who already own other football clubs will not be able to devote all their time and resources to Everton. So I think we need owners who are going to be 100% concentrating on our club, rather than having other irons in the fire.

Sky were reporting 5 different parties. Then the Roma owner came in… but I can't work out who they are, and which are together, but from what I gather so far:

1) AJ Bell (+1) (2 Evertonians), backed by Michael Dell, of Dell Computers

2) Rights & Media Funding – Existing Creditors

3) MSP Sports Capital – Exiting Creditors

4) AS Roma owner

5) A-Cap & 777 Partners; creditors interested in direct investment with us.

6) John Textor: Palace minority owner

7) Vatche Manoukian - reported by Sky as the latest interest.

It looks like I've just done the task I requested myself. But is that it – any others?

I've put them above in vague order of preference...

He, along with another, has loaned the club £450 million (shareholder loans) that they have written off.

He holds over 94% of the shares in the club which he was willing to sell for around £70 million to 777 Partners in the short term.

I think he is an idiot with his own money and choices. But, he doesn't appear to be a person who is trying to line his own pockets through the sale of the club, to me, if I've got my facts right.

They all must think a sensible price from Mohsiri and the club can prosper in the future. It's down to him to come up with that price.

Usmanov must be rubbing his hands.

I'm just waiting for the little girl in the Dairy Milk commercial to put in a bid of 2 buttons and a little plastic Unicorn.

I believe the Manoukain and Friedkin (AS Roma Owner) is one bid. Also,

Textor has dropped out.

In fairness, people like Tony Abrahams said it would get like this… and I was sceptical. Perhaps the progress made under Dyche – comfortably mid-table for the first time in a few seasons despite the extreme cost-cutting.

Whoever takes over is very unlikely to bankroll a spending spree. Roma, for example, have been engaging in some pretty hard cost-cutting. In the past couple of seasons, they have spent about €30M, and sold about €150M worth of players.

The difference might be the level of engagement and professionalism, which has been sorely lacking from Moshiri.

My excitement is being held in check though, knowing that the person making the decision is our money-launderer in-chief, who will put himself first, second and last.

The implication of Barry's post is that there was something in the Share Purchase Agreement that made their bid so attractive, Moshiri pursued it beyond the point of reason. I can only think of two things, either there was a shareholding upside for Moshiri, maybe converting some or all of his loans to further equity.

Or 777 Partners, with their various offshore jurisdictions, had found a way of channelling some of the proceeds back to Alisher. My hunch is the latter.

No evidence other than that's the one that would explain what is otherwise hard to explain. Couldn't Paul Quinn finish the job and get a copy of the Share Purchase Agreement?

The implication of Chris's post is that Moshiri has played 777 Partners like a fiddle, using their cash when he couldn't or wouldn't provide any and, possibly, leaving them with junior, relatively unsecured debt and with a serious risk of not seeing all or even most of it back.

I wonder which poor schmucks are ultimately on the end of the trade, presumably some pensioners in the US.

It does however remind us just how messy this purchase is going to be. There are an awful lot of different parties, some with conflicting goals and motives, to satisfy.

I don't understand the money involved and how it fully works but my understanding is that whoever purchases Everton will need at least £1B, and it was being reported that this group was offering £400M?

Deloitte are obviously working very hard for Moshiri and those two lifetime Evertonians, Bell & Downing, have also got their PR Machine working overtime but, with Moshiri allegedly making the decisions, the answer is blowing in the wind!

Being serious, with a lot of different groups allegedly wanting to purchase Everton, I'd sooner things went slowly, even though I'm very aware of the need to get things done because of our very precarious financial position with regards to the Profitability and Sustainability Rules.

It sounds like we have got to sell before the end of June to avoid another points deduction. So, even when we are taken over, the first thing the new owners are going to have to do is sell a player to whatever club, who will know that we need to sell to avoid another penalty.

At that stage I hadn't heard. You were well ahead of me. Thanks for that. Not sure what to think now. It is Sunday and I'm catching up with you and the world.

Not sure I am a fan of the multi-club idea, having seen how 777 operated so I think, for the moment, that Bell and Downing would be my choice assuming the detail of their offer is acceptable.

As I've said before on here, whoever it is we shall have to wait and see if they are the 'right' ones for us but we have no say in the matter anyway.

Presumably, the mountain of debt then becomes the new consortium's job to manage. Other bids involving some equity and further loans aren't clear on what Moshiri would actually walk away with.

I'd favour a clean share-buyout, without adding further loans (possibly secured on BMD) to the mix. If Manoukian/ Friedkin & Co have the cash and football club management experience between them, that sounds like what we've been hoping for. Other bids seem more like financial engineering.

The downside of so many suitors is that he is now in a position to force the price up. Looking at the bids with a hard nose, I think a guy with serious money is preferable to someone who 'has the backing' of serious money.

We've been there before with Philip Green, these people never put their hand in their pocket.

I'd prefer a buyer with money to spend, like a new bidder... with Gulf (ergo oil) money, Roma billionaire or Textor billionaire, or MSP billionaire sounds (makes cash register sound) better to me than local businessmen with less than a billion between them.

I care not about fan sentiment. I want the best people with experience in football ideally, money men in that order, running our club.

Yes, conditions may now be more attractive to a buyer but I don't really buy that. Something fundamentally has changed. It's not just the 777 failure... who knows, he had a reason for sticking with them, I doubt we will ever know why.

As I have said before, I think Moshiri will probably sell a majority stake to a new consortium or owner with the funds to repackage or pay off the debt, take equity for control, but allow him to keep a stake in the club for future returns. (Why would he not? If he can get leverage in negotiations…)

Bell and Downing appeal to me but, at the end of the day, given the way Moshiri has been running the club, he will do what is good for him and his mate.

Regardless of who he goes with, we should do absolutely everything we can to keep Pickford, Branthwaite and Calvert-Lewin – even if it means taking a hit from another “independent” commission

Once the hopeful stability of fit and proper owners comes in, we can reassess future spending. If the above players go, we may escape further punishment from Masters and his corrupt lackeys but Premier League survival will be far more difficult, in my opinion.

Breaking Down the Everton Takeover

Hello Evertonians! I am an FC Barcelona fan, based in Los Angeles, who works in Sports Finance. My neighbor and his wife, who are Evertonians, came over to chat and understand what's up with the club. It's Saturday night here, and I didn't have anything better to do, so I dug into things.

I will try to simplify things from what I read and the conversations I have heard. I am not involved with the buyout but know folks who are. It's a much smaller industry where everyone knows everyone.

Here we go.

**The Debt**

* £159 million – MSP Sports Capital
* £225 million – Rights and Media Funding
* £4-5 million – Metro Bank
* £190 million – 777 Partners (Inherited by A0Cap)
* £450 million – Moshiri's Shareholder Loans

MSP Sports Capital has two distinct security arrangements:

* Assets of Everton Stadium Development Company Limited. This means that in default, MSP can acquire the new stadium to recover their loan. Slightly complicated to explain, but Andy Bell, George Downing, and Moshiri through Blue Sky Capital are also funders of this project.

* Alternatively, MSP has an option to acquire 50% plus 1 share of Everton's issued share capital, which would give MSP majority control over Everton Football Club.

Rights and Media Funding is a 5-year rolling credit facility. Think of this as something similar to a credit card. Here is where you get conflicting information. A significant discrepancy in reporting, which in my opinion can be a dealbreaker. A few outlets report this loan is secured by future payments from transfers/media, etc. I likely believe it is secured against Everton's bank accounts, fixed charges over Everton's property portfolio (near Goodison Park), and a floating charge over all other unencumbered assets. (Shoutout to The Esk, he is an absolute gem.) This RMF debt accrues a 10.25% interest.

These are the loans that Everton will have to pay regardless as they are secured well.

Loans to 777 Partners (Inherited by A-Cap) are likely junior to these two loans. In any bankruptcy event, MSP and RMF get paid first before 777 Partners and Moshiri. However, A-Cap says their loan is secured and they are senior creditors of the club, which would put them at the same level as MSP and RMF.

**The Timing** 

Something that came up in the chatter was the timing of this takeover. It is interesting as Everton is due to receive prize money payments from the league which are stood at £133 million. This is the money the club receives from the overall competition commercial pool, which is distributed to all the teams, based on a few things, for example, their position in the league table at the end of the season.

Folks involved in financing other clubs have said this payment likely hits before 30th June. There is another payment due in August/September which is the first tranche of payments from the league. (Unsure on this one, but this is what I heard, payment flows vary a lot.)

Despite the timing, the payments would go only so far in helping the club and were likely factored in during takeover talks. My bet is the takeover is likely to complete before 30th June, or at least a structure is agreed upon. 30th June is the deadline used for accessing Premier League Profitability & Sustainability Rules (PSR) compliance.

If deals can be done before that “deadline”, they fall within transfers for the 2023-24 season and are included in the club's financial accounts for last season, rather than moving into the new campaign. If the plan of the new owners is to recapitalize the team, pay down some debt, and sell players to avoid another PSR violation penalty, my bet is the deal gets done before 30th June.

**The Sale**

The Buyers As of today, June 8 11:00 pm PDT, here are the potential suitors:

* Andy Bell, George Downing, backed by BDT & MSD Partners (More on this later)
* A consortium led by MSP Sports Capital
* Vatche Manoukian and Investors from Gulf and USA
* John Textor, founder of Eagle Football, owns 45% of Crystal Palace
* Dan Friedkin, Owner of AS Roma

Hear rumblings of another group, but almost everyone is looking to finance the takeover using debt along with equity. Many suitors will be willing to provide debt-based financing for the purchase, hence allegiances are bound to change.

**The Possibilities** 

Here are the things that can happen. I am simplifying this to the bare minimums. The actual deals are complicated and take months to put up and months to complete.

**Possibility I: New Owner comes in, pays all debt, and recapitalizes the team** 

Highly unlikely. The Premier League is a lucrative league for almost every single private equity investor. It's the league that is expected to continue to grow and firms take less downside risk when buying a team versus a team in a league like Serie A.

However, this would cost any new owner over £1 billion. My bet it costs somewhere around £1.3 billion. Deals of this size happen, but Everton is in a unique position and negotiating from a position of weakness. In my opinion, only someone in the Middle East or a single buyer would be able to pull this through. No one in private equity would commit to this, as they are all answerable to their investors.

Simply put, Everton is not worth £1.3 billion.

**Possibility II: New Owner comes in and negotiates with creditors** 

A likely option. In this case, a new owner comes in and negotiates with the creditors to either forego some of this debt or restructure it over an extremely long period of time at low rates. This would make Everton a more lucrative option. However, the club would still owe a lot of money over the long run and will be paying interest on that loan.

This would mean Everton is run like a lean machine for a few years, with fewer resources going towards things like player transfers, etc. It would, however, still be able to stay afloat.

**Possibility III: MSP Capital exercise the option to take majority control of Everton** 

Another likely option. More likely than Possibility II. MSP Capital takes majority control and would, in all honesty, look to buy out Moshiri. They will need a lot of capital, and they are already pulling strings, putting up their stake in FC Augsburg for sale last week. MSP buy out Moshiri, restructure some of the debt, and put up some more capital. They would likely clear the RMF loan first.

The managing partner of MSP Sports Capital, Jeff Moorad, was a professor of mine in a class I took at UCLA. He is an absolute beast, and an amazing dude to hang with. Unbiased view, MSP is actually highly respected in the industry, and widely regarded as having a razor sharp approach to finance.

They are known to take long positions, but I think Everton would likely be a position they hold for the short term, **IF** they go alone on this deal. (This is my take, not Professor Moorad.) It would be akin to what Elliott Investment Management did with AC Milan when their Chinese owners backed out. They would step in, stabilize the ship, hope the new stadium attracts enough new commercial and matchday revenue, and sell the team to another buyer recovering some of their investment. What Elliott did with AC Milan was absolutely legendary, and in no world would Gerry Cardinale and RedBird have bought AC Milan had Elliott not done its job.

**INSIDE INFO HERE:** I cannot reveal others in the MSP Sports Capital consortium. Texted a former colleague who is at the firm that are bidders with MSP. If the consortium is agreed upon, MSP comes in with others, who are capable of buying majority control, and running Everton over the long term. MSP in this case would still retain a minority stake. The new stadium holds the key to this deal.

**Possibility IV: Everton goes into administration** 

Cannot rate this option or its likelihood. Let me walk you through this. Administration is a major taboo in the football world, but something extremely common in finance. It is a way for a firm to basically restructure its debt and get back to good health. It does not mean the club ceases to exist.

The preferred way that things are done is through a method called ‘company voluntary arrangement' (CVA). In a CVA, a deal is put forth, which creditors vote on, usually giving them less money than they are owed, with voting power decided based on seniority. In this case, MSP and RMF would get more votes in the say versus A-Cap and Moshiri.

CVAs are extremely common in the EFL and other leagues, with advisory firms literally minting millions every year, doing nothing but advising teams here. In the Premier League, only Portsmouth has ever gone into administration. Going into administration would see 9 points being docked at the start of next season for Everton.

The Pros of this approach:

* Everton sheds a ton of debt. This would make it extremely attractive for someone to buy the club.
* The reduced debt will likely be restructured over the long run, hence a free-spending owner coming in can actually devote more money to things like rebuilding the squad, enhancing facilities, hiring more staffers, and growing the club.

The Cons:

* A ton of people likely get fired at Everton, as the club must break even.
* The club cannot spend any more money on signings. They may even sell players.
* Local businesses are affected the most, these are folks who provide things like catering services, produce, florists, etc.
* The Big Kahuna: Going into administration can trigger certain clauses in player contracts that allow them to leave for free. I have seen it happen with teams in the EFL, but the situation remains subjective. Any player with such a clause would need assurances from the new owners before the takeover is complete.

There are some speculations online as this being the preferred way in for new owners. I doubt it, but the threat of administration is enough for even the world's biggest banks/financiers to come to the negotiating table. Every possible new owner would hold this gun over Moshiri's head, to get him to agree to a deal, and forgo as much of his loans.

**Some Questions I think are FAQs** 

**Is Michael Dell buying Everton?** 

No, Michael Dell is not buying Everton. Michael Dell's family office is DFO Management, which was formerly known as MSD Capital. MSD Capital was Michael Dell's family office, meaning it exclusively invested his money. However, in 2009, MSD Capital opened up to outside investors and became an investment firm of its own. In 2023, MSD merged with BDT to create BDT+MSD, the firm that is backing the Bell and Downing bid.

They do still invest some of Dell's money, and Dell may be their biggest investor, but as far as I know, BDT is huge itself, managing some of the capital from the Walton Family (Walmart), the Pritzkers, and the Mars Family. BDT's founder, Byron Trott, is worth about $3.2 billion alone. Trott is considered a legend at Goldman, where he helped Buffett structure his investment in Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis of 2008. Oe of my ex-bosses worked at Goldman during this period under Trott's team and considers him a legend, even saying he single-handedly saved Goldman Sachs by convincing Buffett to invest and structuring some wild deals.

One thing I know for sure is BDT+MSD would likely pursue a debt-based financing structure. They are not built to go heavy into equity-based financing for sports teams. BDT+MSD have already done a bunch of debt-based deals; Everton won't be different. In the scenario where Bell and Downing succeed in taking over, Everton would likely owe a lot of money to BDT+MSD.

**Would Bell and Downing with BDT+MSD make sense?** 

My take here is no. Running a football club is no joke. Even though Bell and Downing being Evertonians makes it ideal, I am not entirely convinced of their ability to run a team. Everton would still be severely constrained financially, as they would owe money to BDT+MSD, and Bell and Downing wouldn't be able to pump a lot of cash into the business from their end.

There is nothing that guarantees Everton will not see the same scenario as it does now, three years after Bell and Downing take over. Private equity folks make sense, as they come in knowing they may know other clubs but don't know much about Everton. They will, by default, bring on Evertonians on the board, and will have much more incentive to run it over the long term, as the only way they see a return is through actually growing the club economically, which only means a better Everton on and off the pitch.

**Are BDT+MSD backing only Bell and Downing?**

No, BDT+MSD are free to back anyone in the contention. They are committing to debt-based financing, so as long as the buyer is credible enough, they should have no problem going ahead. Considering they are backing Bell and Downing, I would be surprised if others in the race did not get better financing terms.

As I said, allegiances in debt-based financing are fluid. The hard truth here is BDT+MSD would likely be calling up other potential buyers who bid to see if BDT+MSD can provide financing for their deal. Debt-based financing for a Premier League club is pretty much a dream scenario for any firm, as the underlying asset securing the loan is more stable than in other deals.

Simply put, BDT+MSD are not competing with other potential buyers; they are competing with firms like JP Morgan, Sixth Street, Ares, Arctos, etc, who may want to front one of the buyers.

**What's up with A-Cap?** 

I do not know. Conflicting things online. I doubt A-Cap will get to invest anything more in Everton, through debt or through equity. I also read that their financial position is under question as the rating they rely on no longer reflects their financial standing. However, I still do not know what their position is.

**Who do I want to see win the bid?** 

Biased towards MSP Sports Capital because of Jeff Moorad. If they pull the consortium through, and the other investors take over the majority club, all I can say is Everton would be lucky. That being said, there are plenty of other people willing to buy Everton with MSP. As of now, the one most likely, along with MSP, would be a dream scenario.

Also, it wont take time for someone entirely new to emerge as a suitor. That is how consortium works. People are surprised, but it's literally like texting friends to pitch in and creating a group chat. Things happen over Telegram/Whatsapp/Signal. My boss had once raised $xxx million for a deal texting the LP in the deal. The conversation went along these lines.

Prospectus sent over Mail + WhatsApp 

My Boss : What do you think?

LP : $xxx m 👍

LP : Jeff also $xx m and Jake $xx m 🤝🤝

I can bet there are plenty of group chats of potential consortiums that may enter bidding. Everton FC is low-key a bargain, the debt will eventually get restructured. There are plenty of more messy restructurings that have happened in Finance before. Creditors eventually cave, but it's a dogfight.

Enough written. Feel free to drop any Qs you may have, I will answer them to the best of my ability and knowledge of Everton's finances.

I really hope you guys pull through, I know you will.

Spending their own money, or spending on Everton to bring in players we need to compete at Premier League level, without putting more debts on the club? What am I missing?

What's in our club's best interests here? A load of financial vultures or two guys who are Evertonians?

Bell is a financial guru, so some much-needed nous, which we've been lacking (despite having had an accountant as our current owner. Remind me not to get him to do my tax return).

Run it properly and sensibly.

Dell's involvement is a red herring probably. He might provide funds but will likely not take any lead, although it would an added bonus if he did.

Our debt needs to be at a sustainable level. Work intelligently to get the club back on its feet and competetive.

This will be a long and tough road, but absolutely necessary. No more cowboys with no idea. No more financial sharks looking for a quick buck and not giving a toss.

Sensible heads. Evertonians. Long term planning. Some hope again would be nice.

Moshiri could have a million people interested in buying Everton but I'm certain the only thing he his interested in is getting a higher price unless his boss wants him to remain involved and this is hopefully something that we will find out more about in the coming days…

What amazing analysis you found. I agree entirely.

Mike G, has gone on about how good Jeff Moorad, would be for Everton, so this ticks a lot of boxes, imo, but the other thing that I found significant is when whoever wrote the article talked about how sensible buyers, would try and bring in people with an Everton connection anyway.

This would be more beneficial for Everton, than having two dyed in the wool, toffees, taking over, for a whole list of reasons imo, because even though I’m sure Bell & Downing, love Everton, and will be taking over with the greatest of intentions, I’d prefer it more if they had bosses, who never had any emotional connection towards our club?

Makes sense that Pat, especially after reading what Stephen has just posted, mate.

The chatter is getting better.

Oh yeah, and muchos gracias to the Barca finance dude, good stuff in few words, priceless stuff.

I will go with an unresearched position that Bell and Downing know there is no downside to them expressing interest with what appears to be limited backing. They know it will kick others into action and help Everton get a deal done overall.

Or can we expect to see more interest?

I find it hard to work out but very intriguing how they have managed to stay out of the limelight, so perhaps the story I've been getting told was fabricated all along!

Some day soon, very soon hopefully, all will be revealed, but like everyone else, I'm only interested in what is best for Everton Football Club.

Let's Awaken The Sleeping Giant!!

This is ultimately what is driving interest right now, the security that plans can be realized with the probability of survival asymptotically approaching 1.

Where were the investors all those years ago? In my opinion, they were there, but only one investor agreed to keep Bill on as Chairman and let him pick his own board – that investor was Moshiri & Usmanov.

As to why all the investors are being named now, I said a few weeks back when administration was being banded about that it would never come to that and that other interested parties will be waiting. But, with 777 Partners funding Everton each month, they will have an exclusion as part of the agreement where Moshiri cannot speak to others.

Part of me wondered if Usmanov was lurking in the background with 777 and that was why this dragged on for over 8 months. Whatever the reason was, we are now seeing that there are people out there and no matter what we say about Masters, he has certainly done us a huge favour by not allowing 777 Partners to take over our club.

What we need now is someone to say to Moshiri, change your end-of-year accounts from end of June to the end of July, that should hold the vultures off for Branthwaite for now.

A final summary from me, if we keep our accounts the same to the end of June, anyone can come in for Branthwaite; however, had Branthwaite been in the England squad, no agent or club could have spoken to the player, or the player's club, during the tournament – they would have had to wait until July to speak to him.

The plot thickens on his non-selection…

Anyway, there's my thoughts on the matter. Again, just guesswork, no concrete evidence, just my views.

Some even predicted administration but Mike Gaynes had it right. Long-term debt can be restructured or converted to equity.

Investors were just waiting to see whether we confirmed our Premier League status and for the 777 exclusivity agreement to expire.

To me, the only people I would like to see in control of Everton are Bell and Downing, even if they don't have the backing of Dell. They both are and have been longtime supporters of Everton plus profitable business people in their own right.

They must both be fully aware of the problems that have got us in this mess as personally they have seen it happening over the years. Their interest, and I understand they can see a profit in the takeover in the future, but I believe they are more interested personally as long-time supporters to get the club back to where it belongs, fighting for league and trophy successes.

Dell is quite the name for backing but I believe they understand that there were other backers they could have relied on.

As if the Russian misfits weren't enough!

Now it depends how much Moshiri wants and does he want to part with all of his shares or not. The stadium is a mighty chunk for any buyer to find.

The sharks are circling looking for a cut price bargain it remains to be seen what can be worked out.

Watching your posts with extra interest, Tony my friend.

And to your post #18, yes, I believe he has. In fact I give him credit for three excellent decisions in an avalanche of bad ones, the other two being the hirings of Thelwell and Dyche.

Not only that, the Premier League are looking at replacing P&S Rules in the summer, which might come in before end of July.

Either way, it buys us an extra Month, instead of being forced to sell players before the end of June.

That is the uncertainty all the time and it still exists even now. Moshiri has been a Muppet all along with not a good business decision in sight. I think that it is an offshore property deal that is at play and the actual running of the club is a secondary consideration.

Stephen #79,

Thank you for posting that analysis, very informative, but Christine's Moshiri factor will make a big influence on the outcome. This has not been taken into account in the analysis. A small difference in direction can have a big impact. The analyst basically agrees with Paul The Esk's recovery plan, which IMO is the best way forward.

Then they would have 50% +1 share of the club.

Great find and what a spectacular Reddit post that is -- from a Moorad student, no less. The guy does make an impression on everyone around him. As I've said, I only met Jeff once, briefly, but this guy took a class from him. Hello.

Interesting news item that MSP has put Augsburg up for sale. I missed that one. Bloomberg sets the value of the club at >€150 million, cash which would certainly come in handy. I doubt Najafi will want to sell any shares of the Phoenix Suns to help finance an Everton bid, which is why Moorad's dealmaking is so important.

The information from the Reddit poster on the structure of the Dell investment is a bit confusing because of the Dell alphabet soup. I read that it was MSD Partners, not MSD Capital, that merged with BDT to create BDT & MSD. The reporting from Sky Sports and BBC is also a bit confusing as to which entity is actually participating.

Furthermore, DFO (Dell Family Office) Management remains as a distinct entity itself, and Paul Joyce reported in the Times that DFO, and therefore Dell himself, is backing Bell and Downing. The key word there is "backing" rather than buying, as the Reddit poster points out.

Like the Reddit guy, my money is still on Jeff. Thanks again, Stephen.

I think thats a very interesting thought on the Branthwaite exclusion (which gets more difficult to explain every day). Watch this space.

I don't pretend to know anything about Friedkin's finances but he looks like a decent honest kind of guy, unlike some who've been linked with us.

Thanks for that post, some very interesting insights.

My two questions would be:

a) If EFC is not worth £1.3bn (and I entirely agree it isn't), what is it worth, and let's say hypothetically, debt free?

b) I don't suppose your contacts have any insight as to why Moshiri persevered with 777 for so long?

I would personally be astonished if such a complex deal, with all the various and arguably conflicting interested parties, could complete in 3 weeks. I would imagine they might even struggle to pass the Premier League Director and Owners Test in that time (assuming the latter are not already on hols) let alone an FCA approval, assuming that is also needed. But here's hoping.

It'll never complete by June 30th. But the structure and an agreement can be completed.

Due diligence alone will probably take 60 days?

The public photos used by Friedkin and Manoukian are both hilarious.

Friedkin's picture looks a bit like this to me:

People want to know what I look like, I'll be presentable, take the pic and let's be done with this and move on.

Manoukian's picture looks a bit like this to me:

Let's go glamour shots. I'm gonna fold my arms because I'm rich, smart, and important. I'm going to look as devilishly handsome as I'm able, and I'm really something, aren't I?

I dunno...

Okay, that is theoretically do-able but I still say a massive stretch given the multitude of players at all points around the table.

Premier League are looking at replacing P&S Rules in the summer, which might come in before end of July.

I really don't think so, Brian.

P&S Rules are not going away that soon. They remain in force certainly next season, while the Premier League try out two other schemes: SCR and TBA.

Seems a shame that Moshiri gave 777 Partners so long an exclusivity agreement which not only precluded other bidders but would also put them off showing an interest because they wouldn't want to waste their time, just like the reason Textor has now withdrawn interest.

I wonder what the deal with 777 Partners was? And even though there is no evidence Usmanov was involved, that is the only thing that makes sense.

Suddenly, Moshiri withdrew from the deal, claiming that rather than sell the club he had decided to seek investment.

Extremely odd, notwithstanding their loan, that he complied with an exclusivity deal with 777 Partners that lasted a remarkable 8½ months.

Moshiri won't give a fuck for a bright future for Everton but only a way to get out of the shit with his taskmaster!

The Kaminski consortium had worse headlines than 777 Partners within 2 weeks of their interest being known.

It will be interesting to see how this new consortium stands up tothe scrutiny.

I imagine there are a lot of advisers and lawyers working long hours right now for various parties trying to get ahead on the deal.

Got to imagine something has to happen by 30 June for PSR and Branthwaite not being at the Euros makes me nervous given Man Utd seem very interested.

Well said and I agree 100%.

They know what they are doing, too. They know they are in the "engage in fraud" business and they basically break rule number 7 of the Big Rules.

They, in the end, steal from workers, pensioners, etc. If it's not straight evil it's, being very kind, wicked.

Would love to find out who the Saudi royal is...Knowing our luck he will be poorer than Prince Abdullah over at Sheffield United.

I know you’re Catholic like me. At Mass today we had a whole about Satan and his tricks and in all seriousness I spent the whole time thinking about 777 partners.

lol I can handle it I’ve tolerated the Kenwright era

Possibly it should be regarded as what the eventual buyer is (buyers are) prepared to pay. Maybe we should run a "Guess the final price" poll on TW for a bit of pre-season fun.

Stephen @ 88 - Thanks. Really good reading. Definitely not a 5-minute post. So thanks for putting so much time in to it!!!

Birds of a feather flock together. The prince of lies and deceit.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Get your Rosary Beads out.

I have two, one from the Vatican, blessed by the Pope and one I purchased in Bethlehem.

I often get them out before important matches.

Maybe I should get them out and pray for takeover resolution?

Get all the “interested parties” on stage (X-Factor style) and make them set out their plans and show us the money. Then open the phones for a public vote to see who takes home the sash and crown presented by Moshiri and Dame Headlock Baxter.

A song, dance or a few jokes would help their sales pitch and improve ratings.

Think they insist you have to be able to spell "loan"! 😀

I was hoping you would say Bell and Downing as your preferred bidder, your judgement seems sound.

I could be wrong but I'm thinking the end of June accounts date could be a requirement of the Premier League, so it can't be messed with.

That is absolutely correct but the intrigue is guesstimating what that will be, given the various chat around.

For example, one party supposedly made a £400M equity bid. If that still includes all the loans outstanding, they are braver than I. Even only external loans, that would still be the best part of £1B.

The bearish attitude to risk and (excessive) debt is probably a reason why I'm not a multi-millionaire, but I would be balking at anything over £600M, and even that assumes a lower interest rate environment, while my guesstimate is others would go to £800M tops.

As you indicate, 30 June seems to be the requirement of the Premier League, and I don't see any sympathy coming from them in regards to our situation.

While I appreciate takeovers and buy-outs of this magnitude are usually protracted affairs, and won't be concluded quickly, even if agreements have been reached, awaiting all the paperwork, contracts and finances etc to all be tied up.

All this is eating up valuable time and creating total uncertainty towards player transfers, in and out. Dyche and Thelwell are in a precarious position to say the least. I hope common sense prevails and no panic sells or buys are made until clarity is reached.

From the fans' point of view, they want the richest most shrewd operator. For Moshiri, he wants the guy who's going to give him the most dosh. And those two groups may very well not overlap, with of course the decision-maker being Moshiri. He gets final choice.

So we could have a Liverpool situation, where a good bidder makes a good bid, but is rejected in favour of a knobhead who gives Farhad an extra £10 million.

And we need this done quickly, but the only way that happens is if the creditors all agree to take a reduction in the amount they are owed. They won't be inclined to do that if they see we have a couple of billionaires sniffing around.

So we could have a delay, eventually putting off the billionaires who clear off, leaving the way clear for a gobshite to play hardball with them, and get the deal over the line.

£450M of that £1B is debt to Moshiri so, if someone was to offer him £400M cash, I think he'd bite their hand off. He'd only lose what he previously converted to equity.

About £200M has to be paid to MSP immediately unless they agree to postpone.

The rest of the debt is historic long-term borrowing except for 777's £200M that was supposed to convert to equity. I don't know the standing of that if 777 / A-Cap call it in.

But it all adds up to your £800M potential buy-in stake for a new owner.

Forest certainly didn't get any sympathy from them when they argued that holding up the sale of a player after that date actually has put them in a better financial position.

I just posted the exact same sentiment to your first paragraph on Lyndon's article.

If Manoukian's consortium is offering an all-equity offer, Moshri has to bite his hand off? I just can't see anyone offering that much cash up front.

And if that happened, we'd be miles better off from our current position to be sure.

Honestly, if there's truth behind these reports, I think we'll enter into an exclusive offer with Manoukian by the end of the week.

This Manoukian offer is just frankly stronger, and has a lot more financial clout and power behind it. Or at least it would appear so.

For now, I'm putting Manoukian's offer in pole position. It would be lovely to have a few Blues manning the helm, but those Blues would still have a leash on investment. The Manoukian offer would release shackles.

I think it's in Moshri's best interest to get his money back out, and it just so happens that the folks offering him the fast-track exit have serious resources at their disposal.

Manoukian in the lead for me now.

He buys Calvert-Lewin before 30 June for £40M, or however much we are over by on PSR, then buys Everton and decides to loan Calvert-Lewin back for the season whilst he learns Italian, that's a benefit for multi-club owners.

Or the bid with Saudi Money buys the club, insists no one is sold, then does to the Premier League and Master Bates what City are doing: “See you in court!” That's my preferred approach

But it all adds up to your £800M potential buy-in stake for a new owner.

But I can't see that having a new owner who has to borrow that £800M is going to put us in a better position than we are now.

We need someone with the K.A.S.H.

Find your beach.

Paul the Esk.

It is therefore obvious that Moshiri is not sole owner of Everton since Blue Sky Capital has one other shareholder, who is not Usmanov but could be indirectly connected to him.

Moshiri owes money to Usmanov-related companies. It therefore follows that Usmanov would have a say in the sale of Everton Shares.

It would be therefore be in the interests of purchasing parties to speak to representatives of Usmanov. This would be difficult since Usmanov is under sanctions in the UK and a joint investigation between the US and UK is currently taking place.

All the shareholder loans are now represented as equity by the auditors under Additional Reserves. It seems that the shareholder loans were to be written off in 777 Partners case, since they do not appear to have asked for an up-front payment in the Share Purchase Agreement.

Crosby, it is.

Yes, that has been obvious to the entire world for years now, since Moshiri's 94.1% holding is somewhat less than the 100% required to be "sole owner of Everton."

"It therefore follows that Usmanov would have a say in the sale of Everton Shares."

No, it does not.

"It would be therefore be in the interests of purchasing parties to speak to representatives of Usmanov."

No, it would not. It would instantly disqualify them. Contact with sanctioned persons or entities for business purposes is against the law.

First, Stephen (88) - Add my name to the kudos you deserve for finding and posting all that.

The second to last paragraph, the writer said, "Feel free to drop any Qs you may have, I will answer them to the best of my ability and knowledge of Everton's finances."

And so he did, quite a bit. As interesting as his original post. The link is below. The fellow's handle is ReadyContact9736:

Breaking Down the Everton Takeover

With respect to the Bell and Downing deal the new stadium could be called the "The B and D stadium" or similar to and prospective new buyers etc?

Or if the Management team of Bell and Downing get their wish to be owners of EFC with their backing of the Dell cash, we could always call it the New Dell stadium and this would take money off the purchase price and hopefully allocate more cash to help with signings etc.

Just a thought going through my head, as I have no business brain in my head etc?

If football's governing bodies start to take a harsher stance on FFP breaches and, heaven forbid, actually punish clubs for breaking the rules, you will likely see the benefits of multi-club ownership come to the fore once more.

Let's say that Club A wants to sign a particular player, but they know they are in danger of breaching FFP at their current level of spending. So what can they do? Well, Club B, also part of the same ownership stable could buy the player instead, before loaning them to Club A at a negligible rate. The outcome? Club A gets what they want without catching the attention of FFP accountants.

In theory, Club B could also sell the player to Club A at a reduced rate – the perks of this multi-club ownership programme, and the ability to game Financial Fair Play rules, is another threat endangering the integrity of football.

So there's one way of getting round end of June's submitted fianances, so it goes on next years accounts, without having to be forced to sell players, like we were with Richarlison.

For all we know, our accounts may be fine, but if we are over, we'll that's one way of getting around it, that's assuming it is the Roma owner.