Everton

Everton takeover: John Textor makes new bid to buy club from Farhad Moshiri

American billionaire John Textor has placed a new bid to takeover Everton from Farhad Mohsiri after the Friedkin Group pulled out of a deal to buy the club

The Everton takeover saga has taken another twist with American billionaire John Textor placing a bid for the club. His interest comes after the collapse of a deal with the Friedkin Group last month.

Textor, 58, who holds a 45% stake in Crystal Palace, has, as first reported by The Guardian, officially entered the race to acquire the Blues from Farhad Moshiri having initially expressed his interest earlier in the summer once it became apparent that the long-doomed bid of US firm 777 Partners was never going to come to fruition.

Moshiri put the club back on the market last month after the Friedkin Group, headed by US billionaire and AS Roma owner Dan Friedkin, pulled out of the deal during a period of exclusivity due to concerns primarily with the debt the club had to 777 and A-CAP.

READ MORE: Everton new stadium: First-team players visit site after major developmentsREAD MORE: What happened to champagne bottle that marked emergence of Everton hero

777 Partners and A-CAP are involved in live civil litigation in a New York court over allegations of fraudulent activity, with the suit being brought by London-based Leadenhall Capital Partners over money loaned to the two firms where question marks were raised over the collateral used to get the loans in the first place.

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info

Textor, who paid £87.5m for a 40% stake in Palace in 2021 before acquiring a further 5% a year later, would have to divest his interest in Everton’s Premier League rivals, as per league rules, before he would be able to complete any such takeover

Moshiri himself engaged in a similar move in February 2016, selling his shareholding in Arsenal before buying the Blues the following month.

Textor, who also owns a controlling interest in French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais, as well as Brazilian outfit Botafogo, has already spoken out on his interest in Everton in an interview with The Athletic back in June.

“Everton represents the best of English football: the struggles, the glory, the want,” he said.

“I love that it’s out of London. Everybody should want to buy Everton right now. That kind of club is what I’m referring to.“How great would it be to take one of these great English clubs back to sort of glory?

“I suspect the problem with Everton is it won’t be available by the time we would be ready for it.

“We’re not going to rush the situation at Palace, no matter how good another opportunity looks.”

Indeed, Textor, like many, felt that the Friedkin Group interest would be the end of the matter, but given that deal collapsed, it has opened the door to another bite at the cherry for Missouri native, who made his fortune in digital media, holding, among other things, a majority shareholding in the streaming platform fuboTV.

The Guardian claims that the outspoken Textor is seeking a profit on his Palace investment and that his co-owners, David Blitzer and Josh Harris, are unlikely to acquire his shares, although interest has arrived from three parties over doing a deal.

Another period of due diligence and exclusivity would be required to buy Everton, and Textor would be dealing with the same issue that the Friedkin Group had over the 777 Partners and A-CAP debt.

However, in the wake of the collapse of the Friedkin Group deal, sources close to the bid said that the club was investible and that it would depend on the appetite for risk for the individual or group when it came to dealing with the 777/A-CAP matter.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button