It was 23rd September when news broke that The Friedkin Group had agreed a deal with Farhad Moshiri to acquire his 94.1% stake in Everton FC. The earliest prognostications had it that the Houston-based firm could breeze though the regulatory process in as few as four to eight weeks but most agreed that the takeover wouldn’t be complete until the middle of this month.
With a little over three weeks of the year left, that timeline is mostly up and while there has been nothing official to point to by way of signs the end of the process is immediately imminent, those seemingly closer to the situation are hinting that everything will be wrapped up by Christmas.
Though the fabulous new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock stands on the banks of the royal blue Mersey as a counter-weight to the volume of criticism aimed at the Anglo-Iranian for this failings in so many other areas of the business — not least on the pitch! — and beckons the Club to a potentially brighter future, the end of the Moshiri years will largely be celebrated by Evertonians when it finally comes.
As such, a resolution of a process that began in late 2022 and which dragged through the anxiety-inducing uncertainty of the 777 Partners debacle will come as a welcome Yuletide gift for long-suffering fans who have had almost nothing to cheer so far this season.
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David Hellier of Bloomberg was the reporter who had his ear closest to the ground when it came to TFG’s initial bid and agreement with Moshiri while Josimar and Matt Slater of The Athletic have been in tune with the machinations of the court case in New York in which 777 and their backers A-CAP have been embroiled with Leadenhall Capital Partners over what the London firm allege is a $600m case of fraud.
The £200m 777 Partner loaned to Everton makes up a large portion of funds Leadenhall claim was “double pledged” and the Friedkins can’t complete their takeover of the Blues without coming to a settlement over that debt that is acceptable for all parties. Slater hinted again on social media last week that tying off this loose end was likely the only thing holding TFG back from taking control at Goodison Park but the general consensus is that it’s not an insurmountable problem.
Indeed, Sky Sports reporter Alan Myers tweeted his guess that TFG will be in place in the week beginning 16 December and Mark Douglas, northern correspondent for newly rebranded The i Paper agrees that, “[w]hile next week is viewed as ‘optimistic’ for confirmation that the ill-starred Farhad Moshiri era is over, there is now increasing hope that final regulatory hurdles will be cleared in time to usher billionaire Dan Friedkin in as the new custodian at the start of the week before Christmas.”
Douglas, who has appeared to write with authority in recent weeks on the topic of what the Friedkins might be planning for Everton when they do take over, suggests that there will be “an immediate announcement of a new-look board … [and] executive team” but while there are “pressing questions on the football side of the business”, TFG have not made a decision on the future of Sean Dyche.
The boss bought both he and the Friedkins time with the 4-0 thumping of Wolves and may have side-stepped for now another defeat with the cancellation of the Merseyside derby but with games against Arsenal and high-flying Chelsea to come, the managerial situation could be back on the front-burner if some of the clubs below Everton make up ground during that time.
Most agree that the new owners would like to avoid making an immediate change of head coach, giving themselves breathing space to get acclimatised to their new club but in terms of the squad, Douglas claims that “The i Paper has been told transfer plans for January are in the works, with the intention of strengthening the team’s spine” — although the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, an ever-present concern at Everton due to the huge amount of interest the Club incurs servicing around £600m in debt, will limit just how far the team can be strengthened in the New Year without some raising cash from sales from an already small squad.
Regardless of how much or how little the Friedkins are able to do in the short term, finally ending the uncertainty over the ownership of Everton will come as a huge psychological boost. After that, it’s just a question of improving results on the pitch and remaining well clear of a relegation scrap over the second half of the campaign.
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