Michael Kenrick 18/07/2024 7comments  |  Jump to last

In an update on The Friedkin Group's takeover of Everton, i News reports that the process is 'on track' according to unnamed sources, with due diligence in progress as approvals from the various regulatory bodies are sought. 

i News has been told the Friedkin Group’s prospective purchase of Everton remains “on track” as advisors for the Texan bidder wade through what is described as a “very complicated” picture.

The club’s debt structure is said to be difficult to unpick – which is why those close to the deal continue to say there are “no guarantees” it will be completed – but nothing has been discovered in the due diligence process so far that has altered the huge enthusiasm the group has for taking over Everton.

“There’s a huge upside to the deal,” one source close to the group told i. But given the turbulence at Goodison Park over recent months, it should be read as a good thing that they are undergoing detailed due diligence.

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Representatives of the Friedkin Group were on Merseyside earlier this month for talks around the deal but sources stress a deal is not imminent. Despite the upbeat tone of the comments, there remains no timescale and the Premier League’s Owners' and Directors’ Test by itself will take several weeks, with approvals also required from the Football Association and the Financial Conduct Authority.

 

Reader Comments (7)

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Steve Brown
1 Posted 18/07/2024 at 10:35:54
It took two independent commissions weeks to understand Everton's financial balance sheets, debt structures and cost allocation. This might take a while.
James Hughes
2 Posted 18/07/2024 at 10:49:21
Steve, just my (uneducated) opinion but it took two commissions weeks to to make a judgement.
That is because the rules weren't clear and were being made up as they went along. So declaring a punishment was a bit tricky until they decided what we did wrong.

I still struggle to understand that we broke rules when investing (very badly) in our own club AND building a new stadium.

Ben King
3 Posted 18/07/2024 at 10:55:38
What a farce - why should it take weeks and months to decide if owners have the money (and quite often they don’t when Man U owners but that’s another story)?

The rules for ownership have been a joke for years and suddenly the Premier league wish to apply some rigour around them??? Mental

Steve Brown
4 Posted 18/07/2024 at 11:10:48
James, good point and I agree.

The Premier League’s decision not to put a clear governance framework and transparent penalty framework in place is a disgrace.

As was their logic about what constituted co-operation and what didn’t? As far as it existed at all, their criteria was that clubs would receive a lower points deduction for agreeing with the the Premier League’s opinion as soon as it was expressed and admitting they broke the rules - without quite knowing what the rules were. The independent football regulator will short them out.

On Everton’s debt structure, I think that is a complex picture, but also solveable. Long-term debt restructuring by the new owners will lower the cost of our lending at the same time as our commercial revenue increases due to the new stadium.

Paul Hewitt
5 Posted 18/07/2024 at 11:16:55
I have to laugh when people think deals like this will take weeks. You're not buying a car, its a multi million pound deal. There's probably things financially at Everton we don't know about. I said at the beginning it would take till the middle of September to finish the deal. I still think the same.
Christine Foster
6 Posted 18/07/2024 at 11:36:22
Having been involved in "complex due diligence " when taking over a company, the devil is in the detail and not everything disclosed is black and white.
Given that for many years our major source of loans has been a company (R&MF) that provides funding from unknown sources at high interest rates, latterly 777 and it's access to ACAP funding, one can expect a few spanners or not so obvious one line clauses in any agreements. Many loan sharks play for keeps, the have had a cash cow, they only want more. So back when finding money for more lawnmowers was a necessity, it's reasonable to expect that once they have their teeth into you, there will be difficult exit clauses (payments) somewhere...
John Chambers
7 Posted 18/07/2024 at 11:39:14
Paul I quite agree. These guys are potentially investing between £500m and £1bn, it is expected Moshiri will lose several hundred million of his investment, so they are definitely going to want to do a detailed due diligence.

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