(Sept 23): US billionaire Dan Friedkin has agreed to a takeover of Everton FC, the Premier League team that has long struggled to find a buyer.
Friedkin and Everton owner Farhad Moshiri came to an agreement over the weekend, according to people familiar with the matter, bringing to an end to months of uncertainty at the Liverpool-based football team.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to become custodians of this iconic football club,” said a spokesperson for The Friedkin Group. Bloomberg first reported on advanced talks regarding the takeover.
Everton is 94% owned by Moshiri, who has invested heavily in the club. A sale to Miami-based 777 Partners LLC collapsed earlier this year, opening the door to other suitors. AS Roma owner Friedkin held exclusive talks before announcing in July that he wouldn’t be proceeding with a takeover.
Bloomberg News reported last week that Friedkin had reignited his plan to buy the club, competing against US investor John Textor.
Textor would have needed to first sell his stake in rival club Crystal Palace before contemplating owning Everton, because rules prevent one owner from having shares in more than one Premier League team.
Aside from owning Roma, the Friedkin Group is one of the world’s largest independent Toyota distributors and owns a collection of award-winning luxury resorts, according to its website. Friedkin himself pilots planes as a hobby. He bought Roma in 2020 and in 2022 they won the Europa Conference League under head coach Jose Mourinho who has since departed.
According to Football Benchmark, Everton’s valuation, including debt, is £474 million (RM2.65 billion), as calculated in January 2024. Everton stands as 25th most highly valued football club in Europe, with Roma placed at 23rd. Real Madrid, the top valued club, has a range between £4.4 billion and £5.6 billion.
However, it is unclear how much money will change hands to take control of Everton, a team saddled with debt, including around US$200 million (RM840.1 million) to 777 Partners.
Everton, which has been docked points for breaching so-called profit and sustainability rules, is among the founding members of the English Football League in the 1880s and one of just a handful of teams that’s never been relegated from the Premier League.
The club, is moving to a new 53,000 seat capacity stadium next year, which it expects will help it increase revenue. The men’s team has made a faltering start to the season and is in 19th position with not a single victory in five matches. It’s been a rough ride at Roma, too. The chief executive of the club, which is 10th in Italy’s Serie A with one win in five, resigned over the weekend amid a backlash about the recent dismissal of Daniele De Rossi as head coach.
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