Everton’s takeover by the Friedkin Group has finally been completed, bringing Farhad Moshiri’s turbulent eight-year spell to a close.
The deal with the group, owned by billionaire Dan Friedkin, was first announced in September but needed to go through all the regulatory processes, including the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.
All parties were optimistic that the deal would be rubber-stamped by mid-December and so it has proved.
Dan Friedkin is propsoed to be chairman. Marc Watts has been appointed executive chairman, with TFG’s chief financial officer Ana Dunkel and Toffees interim CEO Colin Chong also serving on the board. The group also confirmed the shareholder loans owed to Farhad Moshiri have been converted into equity, meaning Everton will not fall foul of the Premier League’s new associated party transactions rules.
It is expected that representatives of the Freidkin Group (TFG) will attend Sunday’s match against Chelsea at Goodison Park.
In a statement, Watts said:
“Today marks a momentous and proud occasion for The Friedkin Group as we become custodians of this iconic football club. We are committed to leading Everton into an exciting new era both on and off the pitch. Providing immediate financial stability to the Club has been a key priority, and we are delighted to have achieved this. While restoring Everton to its rightful place in the Premier League table will take time, today is the first step in that journey.”
The departing Moshiri said:
“I truly believe that the transaction with The Friedkin Group is the best outcome for the club and its future success. There has been a huge team effort in getting to this stage and I would like to personally thank my board colleagues John Spellman and Colin Chong and all the senior management team including Katie, James, Richard and of course Kevin and Sean for their huge commitment to the club. Despite a challenging geopolitical backdrop, a significant amount has been achieved over the last couple of years including the delivery of a new sporting department, the stabilisation of our finances and the delivery of our iconic new stadium. I now hand over to new owners confident in the outlook for the club and that our incredible fans will see the success on the pitch that they so thoroughly deserve.”
The group also set out their vision for the club and its key priorities, which include:
- Strengthening the men’s first-team squad through thoughtful and strategic investment.
- Cultivating home-grown superstars through Everton’s Academy.
- Fostering a distinct on-pitch and commercial strategy for the women’s team.
- Respecting the club’s traditions and keeping Everton at the heart of the community.
- Maximising the potential of the new stadium through long-term commercial partnerships and events that benefit the city of Liverpool.
- Enhancing Everton’s reputation as a unique and historical name in world football.
A deal six months in the making
TFG’s interest in Everton was first revealed in June when it obtained a period of exclusivity to complete an outright purchase of Moshiri’s 94% stake. However, that ended up falling through a month later as an agreement could not be reached between the two parties, reportedly due the amount of debt the club had accrued. Relations between the two parties remained cordial however, with TFG loaning the club £200m to continue the building of the new stadium.
For a long time, it looked John Textor, who is a minority owner of Crystal Palace amongst several other clubs including Botafogo, Olympique Lyon and RWD Molenbeek, was heading towards a takeover. But TFG made a dramatic return to the table and agreed to buy Moshiri’s 94% stake in September, subject to the relevant regulatory approval.
There is a lot on the new regime’s to-do list, not least the future of manager Sean Dyche and director of football Kevin Thelwell, who are both out of contract at the end of the season.
With the Toffees still struggling at the wrong end of the table a change of manager may be required to lift them away from danger and avoid the nightmare scenario of dropping into the Championship just as the club moves to a new stadium. That also may require some activity in the January transfer market, though the presence of our good old friend PSR means a considered approach will be needed.
There is also the restructuring of the club’s debt, not least the £200m initially borrowed from 777 Partners that has since been taken on by financial insurers A-CAP and mired in legal wrangling in the United States.
There are also the final stages of the stadium project ahead of a summer move, advancing plans for a legacy project at Goodison and any potential improvements to the club’s Finch Farm training ground.
The turbulent Moshiri era is over
For now, though Evertonians will just be relieved that the Moshiri era has come to an end. The British-Iranian arrived with big ambition and – to his credit – pumped hundreds of millions into the club. But it was largely spent poorly, with muddled leadership and numerous managerial changes resulting in an expensively assembled but ill-balanced and under-performing squad that instead of climbing the table slowly slipped down it.
Some serious belt-tightening followed as it scrambled to comply with financial rules, a situation exacerbated by Alisher Usmanov, whose companies sponsored Everton, being sanctioned by the UK Government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading to those deals being cancelled.
As we know, those financial woes resulted in three successive relegation battles (potentially four), two separate points deductions for PSR breaches and continued financial austerity. No-one could have imagined this mess when Moshiri declared that Everton should no longer be a “museum” shortly after taking over in 2016.
His one lasting legacy is the magnificent stadium that has risen on the banks of the royal blue Mersey. Everton have been trying to solve the stadium issue for nearly 40 years so Moshiri deserves credit for delivering, even if it very nearly bankrupted the club in the process.
Everton are expected to receive the keys to their new stadium in the next few days following the completion of final testing. But before Everton make the historic move from Goodison there is plenty of work to be done to ensure they do so as a Premier league club. Only then can the much needed rebuild begin in earnest.
via-SBNation.com
