As Everton strain to avoid another season of struggle in the Premier League, the behind-the-scenes work continues to safeguard their future.
Six weeks have passed since Houston-based the Friedkin Group (TFG) agreed to buy Farhad Moshiri’s 94 per stake in the club — a momentous moment that promised to end years of instability at Goodison Park.
What has followed has been an expected lull in the process; baby steps in the right direction rather than another giant leap forward. Given the hurdles that needed to be overcome and the fanfare that greeted the initial announcement, few envisaged anything different.
At the time of September’s agreement, most involved were working on the assumption that the takeover would most likely be wrapped up before Christmas. There has always been an acknowledgement, though, that there are so many moving parts and processes out of TFG or the club’s control that predicting timeframes with any certainty would be a challenge.
The takeover needs approval from three regulatory bodies: the Premier League, the Football Association (FA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Of those, the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test is considered to be the most significant and stringent, assessing a prospective investor’s financial suitability and three-year business plan.
These are hurdles that any takeover process must overcome, but Everton are being forced to pay particularly close attention to events in a New York Court.
Most reading this piece will know the story by now, so we’ll try to keep it as brief as possible. Last season, Everton received around £200million in loans from Miami’s 777 Partners, who were at that stage proposing to buy the club. 777’s takeover collapsed in June, but the loans remain on Everton’s balance sheet. With 777 on the brink of liquidation, its debt position has now been assumed by one of its biggest creditors, the insurer A-CAP.
777 and ACAP are the subject of various legal proceedings in the US, including, most pertinently, a fraud suit brought in the New York court by the British investment group Leadenhall Capital Partners. Leadenhall alleges that 777 and A-CAP ‘double-pledged’ assets as collateral as part of loan agreements.
Leadenhall has been granted an injunction that stops A-Cap selling assets and doing deals without its approval. It has requested to see details of TFG’s takeover of Everton, which includes an agreement with A-Cap to pay off its debt, but the onus remains on the insurer to show the deal does not violate the terms of the injunction.
There is still a process to complete, but confidence remains that a resolution will be found.
While there are no certainties at this stage, nobody has come up with a good reason Leadenhall would want to say no. An army of top lawyers have been working on the case.
The most common view is that the court will likely leave it up to the various stakeholders to decide. Filings from New York show that on October 24, the court stated it could not issue “an advisory opinion” on the transaction and that “the parties have to make their own decisions”.
There is still a feeling the December timeframe outlined remains realistic, with some best-case scenarios focusing more on the start of the month. Again, though, predicting with any certainty remains a challenge given the spinning plates.
TFG could technically take ownership of Everton without Leadenhall and the court’s assent, provided approval comes as expected from the Premier League, FA and FCA. But the aim is still to resolve the A-CAP debt before completion.
In the meantime, work continues before TFG’s arrival. Conversations are still being held between their representatives, led by vice-president of strategy Brian Walker, and Everton staff across multiple departments.
One of TFG’s early priorities appears to be settling on an organisational structure at the top of the club and strengthening Everton’s board of directors.
With Moshiri on the way out, there has long been a leadership vacuum at Everton. The temporary board appointed in the summer of 2023 in anticipation of MSP Sports Capital’s minority investment in the club remains in situ almost 18 months on, far longer than anticipated.
TFG has enlisted the help of Nolan Partners, a renowned sports executive recruitment company, to lead the search for a CEO. Everton’s interim CEO Colin Chong remains highly regarded internally, but comes from a construction background and has really been CEO in name rather than brief. Most of his work has focused on ensuring the completion of the club’s new stadium on the Liverpool waterfront, which is expected to open in time for the new season. It is not inconceivable Chong is handed a new role under any new regime at Everton, given the credit he has in the bank.
The progress continues. 📸 pic.twitter.com/PowRvYPzo0
— Everton Stadium (@EvertonStadium) November 5, 2024
A wide range of candidates in and out of jobs have been spoken to about the CEO post at Everton. Early contenders have included TFG’s ex-Roma CEO Lina Souloukou and Fulham’s Alistair Mackintosh. Rome-based Souloukou, though, is taking time away from the game after resigning from the Serie A club in late September four days after the sacking of former captain Daniele De Rossi as head coach.
Mackintosh, meanwhile, appears settled at Fulham. As such, there remains a good chance that new names will enter the conversation.
Elsewhere, TFG continues to take guidance on the Everton project from those with intricate knowledge of the club’s predicament and respected figures in the industry.
One person well-known to the group is former Nottingham Forest CEO Dane Murphy. The 38-year-old American has a strong relationship with TFG and has discussed a consultancy role for their wider sporting group, which would include Everton.
A former professional player in MLS and lower levels in Europe, he has held senior executive roles at DC United, Real Salt Lake and Barnsley. Murphy was key in Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Premier League in 2022. He is working as a consultant for RedBird/Otro, which owns AC Milan and Toulouse.
The fresh start Everton have long craved appears to be coming. But the wait for that decisive, final step will continue for a little while yet.
Additional reporting: Daniel Taylor
(Top photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
