Everton enters exclusive takeover talks with Friedkin Group

Everton has announced that they have granted a period of exclusivity with the Freidkin Group over a potential purchase of the club. Farhad Moshiri, the current owner of the Toffees, has been trying to offload the team for nearly a year. The British-Iranian businessman initially became a minority owner of the club in 2016. He, however, increased his Everton shares to 94% six years later.

Despite only just completing a near-full takeover of the team two years ago, the Toffees have endured financial hardship. As a result, Moshiri announced that he had struck a deal to sell the team to 777 Partners last September. Nevertheless, the pending agreement hit several snags along the way.

While 777 Partners provided the English club with multiple massive loans, the group was unable to complete the deal. As a result, Moshiri quickly received a series of offers from seemingly more qualified buyers. This lengthy list reportedly included tech billionaire Michael Dell, Crystal Palace owner John Textor, and the Friedkin Group. All three of these investors looking to purchase Everton hail from the United States.

Moshiri picks Friedkin Group over other interested parties

Although Moshiri seemingly had several serious offers, he has officially chosen the Friedkin Group as his first choice. “Blue Heaven Holdings has received significant interest from several highly respected parties interested in investing in the club,” a statement released by Everton read.

“The club can confirm today (June 21) that a period of exclusivity has been granted to The Friedkin Group to progress discussions to acquire a majority shareholding in Everton. All parties will now work together to conclude this process. In the meantime, the club will continue to operate as normal.”

The Friedkin Group, led by Texan Dan Friedkin, currently owns Italian side Roma. The American investors previously purchased the Serie A team back in the summer of 2020 after lengthy negotiations. The takeover supposedly took nearly eight months to finally complete. In the end, the Friedkin Group paid Roma’s former owner around $591 million for the club. Everton fans will hope that a potential deal with the Americans will not take as long.

Friedkin Group has found relative success with Roma

Roma has qualified for a European tournament in every season since Friedkin joined the team. The Italian side also collected the Conference League title in 2022 with Jose Mourinho at the helm. Friedkin initially showed that he was not afraid to spend money in the transfer market as well. The American sanctioned significant deals for Gianluca Mancini, Jordan Veretout, Tammy Abraham, and Marash Kumbulla in his first two years in place.

Nevertheless, the spending has turned economical since the summer of 2022. The Italian side has made a net profit of around $135 million in transfers during this timeframe. Despite generating extra funds, Roma has still managed to qualify for the Europa League. It was also recently announced that the club’s overall value was up 11% compared to the previous year. Roma and Everton now have fairly similar valuations.

Everton supporters will be cautiously optimistic that the Friedkin Group can finalize a deal for the Toffees as soon as possible. Moshiri previously endured a rollercoaster of a ride with 777 Partners. The businessman hopefully did his homework to determine that the Friedkin Group is the most qualified of the interested parties.

PHOTOS: IMAGO