Jeffrey Kaplan's Andalusian Capital Partners advised TFG over the purchase of Everton last year
Everton owner Dan Friedkin and the club's new stadium
Everton owner Dan Friedkin and the club's new stadium
One of the key figures who advised the Friedkin Group has revealed why Everton was such a compelling opportunity. Jeff Kaplan of Andalusian Partners led the advisory for TFG on the acquisition of the Toffees in December.
TFG are now nearly eight months into their tenure at Everton, having brought about a change of manager in David Moyes, who secured the club’s Premier League status with plenty of time to spare last season, and having cleaned up a messy balance sheet and debt structure to see the club head into their new home at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in a positive mood.
The sale process for Everton was not a simple one, with former owner Farhad Moshiri having previously engaged with the long-doomed 777 Partners over a sale that, thankfully, could not complete.
TFG had initially pulled out of talks before returning in the last quarter of 2024 and concluding a deal that ended Moshiri’s tumultuous time as owner.
Kaplan, founding partner at New Jersey-based Andalusian Private Capital and Advisory, explained the process behind the sale to TFG when speaking to Front Office Sports’ Portfolio Players series.
Kaplan said: “The EPL is an iconic league with great media, a wonderful structure around competitiveness with relegation, not for owners but for fans. They’ve created a wonderful media presence in the US, the level of play is second to none. It becomes an outlet for investors if the big four (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL) are not accessible.
“The Friedkin family, we came across them through a high quality introduction and they asked us to help on Everton.
“Everton was a team that had been close to relegation and that was essentially sold in distress. The prior owner, it was a forced sale. When the Friedkins called us and we spent time with them, all my thought process was about M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and distress, and the sale process, what are the risks and how do we option the team secured by the stadium, and how do we complete the stadium given the issues with the seller.
“What was attractive to the Friedkins in identifying the opportunity, and what was attractive to me, was the ability to buy an EPL team at a valuation far less than entry in the EPL, $500bn. We bought the team at less than fair market value and got a $1bn stadium for free. That was my mantra because we were in and we were out and we had buyer/seller dynamics that were challenging.
“That was an exercise where sometimes an advisor really demonstrates value and creates the ability to execute a deal and adds a dimension to the family or prospective owner. This was a deal where ourselves, our legal team, our UK legal team was instrumental in creating a structure for the Friedkins to take ownership under seller duress.”
Not every outcome is the same for advisors when negotiating the purchase of sports teams, but Kaplan was positive about the TFG deal and the prospects that the owners have at the football club, as they joined the growing band of American owners in the Premier League, where more than half of the teams now have some kind of US investment, controlling or otherwise.
“It’s been phenomenal,” said Kaplan. “The team has shot up, they were ahead of Tottenham, ahead of Manchester United, we have a women’s team that can stay in Goodison, we are going to a $1bn stadium, it’s been kind of magical.
“The EPL is wonderful. The media is great but the labour can be challenging. Soccer talent is a very efficient market throughout the world, so you have to compete for talent, there is no such thing as a hard cap, there are fair play rules. That is a challenge for profitability but team valuations are going up. The rule of law in the EPL is different, and the Friedkins, having owned Roma, were comfortable with it and willing to make that bet.”