The Friedkin Group are officially the new owners of Everton Football Club after their buy-out of Farhad Moshiri's 94.1% stake in the Club was ratified.
After more than 12 weeks of regulatory scrutiny, the Premier League gave its approval for the change of ownership to go ahead this week and the Houston-based firm's takeover could finally be confirmed today.
Everton have been acquired by Roundhouse Capital Holdings Limited (Roundhouse), an entity within The Friedkin Group (TFG), following the necessary regulatory approvals from the Premier League, Women’s Professional Leagues Limited, the Football Association, and the Financial Conduct Authority.
The Premier League issued this statement:
Article continues below video content
The Premier League Board has approved The Friedkin Group’s 98.8 per cent acquisition of Everton Football Club, following the completion of the league’s owners’ and directors’ test.
Having been agreed by the board, the takeover has now been ratified by an Independent Oversight Panel.
The club’s new owners and directors have also signed the Premier League’s Owners’ Charter.
The price of the long-anticipated transaction is believed to be in the region of £500m but the financial intricacies of the deal are complicated by Everton's massive debts — now thought to be a least £660m — and were a compounding factor in the sale. A significant part of that debt, in the form of interest-free shareholder loans provided to the club by Moshiri, has been converted to equity via a new share issue.
It represents the end of a long drawn-out process that began with Moshiri entertaining offers for his majority shareholding in the club in 2022 after Everton's finances reeled in shock at the removal of corporate sponsorship deals connected with the Uzbek-born oligarch, Alisher Uzmanov, when he was sanctioned by Western governments in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, both the British-Iranian businessman's willingness to and ability to keep funding the Club has been significantly curtailed as he sought to sell his investment. He entered into exclusive talks with the KAM Group, MSP Sports Capital and Miami’s 777 Partners before reaching an agreement with The Friedkin Group in September.
With the sale of the Club being finalized, and the consequent departure of Moshiri, the Interim Board of Directors that was put in place last year following the departures of CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale, finance director Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp will be disbanded.
Colin Chong stepped in as interim CEO and deserves tremendous credit for overseeing the final stages of construction of the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, the keys to which are expected to be handed over to the Club for the final fit-out process any day now.
TFG have named the new Executive Chairman of Everton, Marc Watts, who is currently a director at AS Roma, with other directors expected to succeed Chong, Moshiri, James Maryniak and John Spellman shortly.
With no announcement from the new owners regarding the footballing side of the operation, both the manager, Sean Dyche, and Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell, keep their jobs for the time being where continuity is understood to be preferred as Everton seek to preserve their place in the Premier League over the second half of the season.
A statement from Dan Friedkin read:
Dear Evertonians,
Following the completion of the takeover of Everton Football Club, I want to express my gratitude for your continued support and introduce the incoming Executive Chairman of Everton, Marc Watts.
I take immense pride in welcoming one of England’s most historic football clubs to our global family, The Friedkin Group. Everton represents a proud legacy, and we are honoured to become custodians of this great institution.
The Friedkin Group is a diverse family of companies with a global footprint spanning industries such as sports, automotive, entertainment, hospitality, and adventure. Across all our endeavours, we strive to deliver extraordinary experiences that ignite people’s passions. We are thrilled to bring this ethos to Everton and the Liverpool City Region.
Whilst we are new to the Club, we fully understand the vital role Everton plays in local culture, history, and the lives of Evertonians here and around the world. We are deeply committed to honouring this legacy while contributing positively to the community, economy, and people of this remarkable city.
Once again, thank you for your continued support.
Yours sincerely,
Dan Friedkin
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:12:53
Outstanding news. Lets now hope for some stability and progression.
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:13:56
Thank God for that! Great news
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:14:57
Moshiri was a false dawn that threatened to kill our great club. Lets hope the Friedkin era brings some off-field stability and on-field ambition.
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:15:08
Fantastic news! Thursday brings new owners, Friday brings a new stadium Saturday brings news of a stadium sponsor (Toyota…?) and Sunday we batter Chelski !
Well, it is Christmas and I can dream….
COYB !
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:16:43
Great news. Let's hope this ushers in a new era of re-building our club and some immediate strengthening of the team.
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:17:05
HEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAA! I've got the champers in the fridge and when I'm done with work tonight I'll be glugging away. Lets hope it's onwards and upwards in all the positive ways and that the Friedkin bunch aren't another nightmare to live through (altho', can they possibly be worse than Moshiri?). I never wanted Americans to own our club but hell. I'm just going to enjoy this moment for what it is! Well done to all of us who's been living through the dread and are still here!
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:22:34
Thats the Christmas present sorted!
Whilst the team is in a worse position than when Moshiri arrived with the new stadium, this acquisition and the lifting of some of the debt Moshiri saddled us with the club is definitely in a better position to grow and eventually get us back at the right end of the table. Im sure we all hope that happens quickly but I suspect progress will be much more measured and sustainable under the new owners rather than trying to buy every number 10 going in the summer
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:24:22
Great news. Let's all look forward to stability and many more goals starting with the game against Chelsea. Is there any truth in the rumour that we have re-signed Naismith for a one match appearance or is it just wishful thinking ?
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:25:50
This looks like excellent and exciting news.
Hopefully now our tired old club can be rejuvenated by competent and ambitious owners.
Moving away from the past few years of barely keeping our heads above water to actually flourishing.
Patience is the key word here as Rome wasn't built in a day, but tangible improvements should be visible to us soon.
Please, no more dark days. We've had more than our fair share in recent years.
UTFT
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:27:43
About Friedkin time
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:28:34
I'm pleased with the sale, swerving e.g. 777. Given our various false dawns over recent years (new ownership, new head coaches and DoFs), I'm going to be cautiously optimistic.
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:28:39
At last!
Great Christmas present for all Evertonians.
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:30:07
Always good to get early Christmas presents lets hope Friedkin can exorcise the ghosts of Christmas past - onwards and upwards slowly and better than before 💙
Posted 19/12/2024 at 10:31:36
This is really fantastic news. A new dawn, a chance to wipe the slate clean. I really hope they bring in a cohesive and visionary board. Top to bottom culture change and rest required.
It will be a long road but hope springs in the corridors of our great club once again! A spectacular review needs to be undertaken of how the club has been run. Mistakes must be learnt from.
Lets make the Freidkins know what we are about at the weekend, lets show them what they have brought and the potential that could be unearthed.
A pre-season friendly with Roma next year please, lets get behind the multi-club model (like it or not) and welcome them with open arms.
As for Moshiri….i dont want to hear his name again, one of the worst things to happen to our club. Foolish man.
How to get rid of these ads and support TW
© ToffeeWeb