Everton’s 777 takeover under extra scrutiny

Premier League officials are apparently not gaining confidence about the Everton takeover by 777 Partners. The Miami-based investment firm previously struck a deal with Farhad Moshiri to purchase the Merseyside club back in September. However, the potential agreement has hit a bit of a snag after a series of events.

It was reported in October that 777 Partners did not provide necessary financial documents to an official British regulator. The regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has to review the firm’s financial standing in order for the deal to be green-lit.

Financial Conduct Authority reportedly asked for the financial paperwork from 777 early in October. Nevertheless, the investment group denied these claims and stated that they did, in fact, submit the necessary documents. The regulator is still conducting their review of 777 Partners.

777 Partners face investigation by US government

Bloomberg is now reporting that the Premier League has not yet given Everton or 777 Partners a clue of how they will rule on the potential sale. Instead, the English top flight has asked for even more information regarding the firm’s financial records. Spokespersons for all three parties involved apparently declined to comment on the matter.

Semafor also recently reported that the United States Justice Department has been mulling a possible investigation into 777 Partners. Government officials are trying to determine if the company violated a series of financial laws. This includes money laundering and financial fraud. 777 Partners has allegedly earned much of their current finances through insurance.

The U.S. investment firm has, however, claimed that they have done nothing wrong. “777 Partners is not aware of any investigation into its business and has no reason to believe that one exists,” the company told Bloomberg in an emailed statement.

They went on to say the the company “considers these scurrilous and damaging accusations to be deliberately timed to undermine its ongoing commercial activities, including the ongoing period of regulatory approvals for the proposed acquisition of Everton FC.”

Everton’s recent points deduction also complicates deal

Everton’s precarious situation is problematic due to their recent points deduction. An independent panel agreed with Premeir League officials that the club violated profit and sustainability rules (PSR). As a result, the Toffees got a 10-point deduction in the Premier League standings.

The club has since appealed the decision and will have to wait and see if the penalty is overturned. If the punishment stands, 777 Partners may receive a discount on their potential purchase of Everton. Media spent time revealing in late October that a stipulation was in place in the agreement for the deal. This would be down to the obvious financial difficulties the club would be in if they were, in fact, relegated because of the penalty.

Nevertheless, 777 Partners still have to have approval by the Premier League in order to make the deal official. To complicate things even further, a credit rating agency recently downgraded the financial strength of the company.

The firm fell from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Fair’ in the review. The decision is essentially because 777 Partners reportedly did not provide audited financial statements over the last two years.

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