Everton see another proposed takeover collapse as the club speaks out on the current situation

Everton see another proposed takeover collapse as the club speaks out on the current situation they find themselves in once again.

The Friedkin Group have ended talks to buy a majority stake in Everton, meaning the Toffees are back in crisis, after a period of seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Last month, Everton owner Farhad Moshiri had entered exclusive negotiations with the Friedkin Group over a possible purchase but those talks have now ended.

Joint Statement – Blue Heaven Holdings and The Friedkin Group.https://t.co/LQPvOGEGz2 pic.twitter.com/moeboDkzs7

— Everton (@Everton) July 19, 2024

CLUB STATEMENT

Following a period of exclusivity, discussions between Blue Heaven Holdings and The Friedkin Group over a potential sale of a majority stake in Everton have ended and The Friedkin Group will not be progressing with a purchase of the Club.

Both Blue Heaven Holdings and The Friedkin Group entered discussions in good faith to explore whether a sale could be agreed. Those discussions have concluded. The parties agree it is in both their interests for Everton to explore alternative options.

The Friedkin Group will remain a lender to the Club and is proud to have played a key role in enabling the new stadium to be built, which will help ensure a bright future for both Everton and the City of Liverpool.

Blue Heaven Holdings maintains a positive relationship with The Friedkin Group and would like to thank them for the time and effort they have put into this process.

When there is further news to share, it will be provided via the Club’s official communication channels.

Kieran Maguire spoke to Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live with more information about it…

Nicky Campbell: Kieran Maguire is a football finance lecturer at Liverpool University. Kieran, welcome. Do we know why?

Kieran Maguire: The Friedkin group was doing its due diligence into the finances of Everton? And they had reservations with regards to some of the outstanding loans. They were hoping that the lenders would take a reduction in what was owed from them. One of the owners. So one of the lenders called 777, they’ve got quite a complicated backstory and I think Friedkin took the view that it was becoming too complex and too risky from their point of view they were going to inherit huge amounts of debt and if they couldn’t guarantee that some of the existing lenders would cut back on what was owed to them, they felt it wasn’t a worthwhile deal to go ahead with.

Nicky Campbell: Right. I mean it has all been very public, hasn’t it, Everton’s finance issues and they of course were deducted points last season, so ahead of the next season, not that far away now, what impact will it have on the club and its finances?

Kieran Maguire: I think the main concern will be on an operational level, making sure that the commitments to the new stadium are met and their substantial amounts still outstanding in terms of continuing to build the stadium. So the contractors, I think they will be monitoring the position very carefully. The potential owners who were the Friedkin group, they had put in around about 200 million pounds themselves because they’d effectively paid off some of the existing debts. So what they are going to want to do with regards to their investment to date, we’ll have to monitor that as well. It is certainly a setback, but Everton is still a very attractive proposition if the right price can be agreed for the club.

Nicky Campbell: How long can they be in this kind of limbo land though? I mean, how reliant is the club for its financial security on this sale going through, as you say, with building a new ground as well?

Kieran Maguire: Well I think the view that will be taken by most of the investors and most of the lenders to date is that Everton is worth more as a going concern than as a club that potentially goes into administration because they will, they would lose any influence that they have over the operations of the club. So I suspect there will be some frantic calls taking place and what we will see is perhaps some additional commitment from some of the lenders because they fear that the alternative is that they could lose out substantially if the club does go into administration, which is sort of worst case scenario. And that clearly would also have implications in terms of points, deductions going into the next season.

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This is how fans reacted as Everton see another proposed takeover collapse and the club speaks out on the current situation…

@r4chaelc1878: Why can’t you just be normal and allow us to be positive?

@markamccormick: Bloody hell, I give up

@KieranJ_1979: Just when you thought things were starting to look a lot more positive!!!

@toptoffeegirl: Am I asking too much as a fan to know why it’s not going ahead? Is it because we are just fucked and no one can save us, did we want more money, is there too much debt, do they not have enough for everything, what’s happening we deserve to know…. Worrying times again!

@jiggerrabbit: Can you do more of the heart checks at Goodison cos you’re gonna see me off yerno

@UpperBullen: Wow, just as things seemed to be going well. The clubbing a worse position than we thought?

@HarryCollier6: Never change blues, I was literally just getting optimistic about the future of the club, thanks for humbling me.

@chrismchittock:
Well all of a sudden £35 million might secure Branthwaite
It’s almost as if Ratcliffe et al knew this was coming
If they’d paid the £70 million they’d be looking stupid this morning
In other news I fear for Everton, a rival but a proper club

@daleclarke1980: And just like that, the Everton we all love and know is back

@lspark_89: Look we can all have a joke about rival clubs but on a serious note, how has 777 been allowed to loan the club huge sums of money with interest at the same time the Premier league had serious concerns about their proposed takeover? Reeks of rank incompetence at the PL

@Danny_EFC6: Can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of doom. Farhad Moshiri has wrapped this club up in all sorts of trouble. TFG come in, take a look at the state of our accounts that this dickhead owner of ours (WHOSE JOB IS A FUCKING ACCOUNTANT) & decide nah let’s walk… i hate him

@MagpieGroupNUFC: #NUFC fans have lived this failed takeover nightmare so it’s only sympathy & prayers to long-suffering #EFC fans today. The mess that Everton finds itself in has all fallen on the Premier League’s watch. How Moshiri, Usmanov et al passed the annual fit & proper persons test…

@Chrsmo: Really feel for #efc. We have been through similar shit ourselves while the “elite clubs” laughed and tried to pick our best player (Grealish) for peanuts (Looking at you Spurs). Hopefully Everton can get a proper owner and get back to being the club they have the potential to be

@EFCPidge97: Was looking forward to this season, felt like the light was at the end of the tunnel… Back into the Darkness… #EFC

@upaul2: Supporting #Everton is pretty much like eating a box of fucking celebrations. One day they are throwing you galaxy’s and teasers, the next day its bounty’s and shit milky ways. Eventually the box is empty with nothing left. That’s where we are heading. It’s grim. #utft #efc

@maggiejane1985: Can we just have one single normal day of Everton, please? Just one.

@ArdaEvertonian: I believe we will go to administration and start the season with 9 points deduction. #EFC

@thatmarkgodfrey: And here was me thinking we could have just one summer without having to think about this cursed club.

@EFCNovaScotia: This fucking club is an abomination.

https://t.co/sfeqIMsulo pic.twitter.com/WvsxlHYzpk

— Luke (@_luke1878_) July 19, 2024