Everton are close to being sold in a deal worth around £600m, bringing to an end Farhad Moshiri’s painful reign behind the controls.
A deal is expected to be concluded by the start of next week as they fight to save their new stadium build as well as their Premier League future.
Mail Sport understand American investment fund 777 Partners are the preferred bidder, although sources insist they are demanding a Premier League guarantee in order to conclude their sale. Everton want the deal done at high speed.
A second bidder, MSP Sports Capital, remained in the chase on Wednesday night and appear undeterred to be clear second favourites.
Critical is the requirement of the next instalment in the building of the new £505m stadium at Bramley Dock.
Other possible candidates are circling but are running out of time.
Moshiri and fellow board members have been unable to attend matches at Goodison Park because of the hospitality from fans. Moshiri owns a 94 per cent stake.
Everton’s remaining fixtures are against Wolves and Bournemouth as they fight to avoid the drop.
777 are a Miami-based firm with a wide-ranging portfolio from sports and entertainment to a variety of other industries including aviation and insurance.
The group injects cash into businesses and provides expertise in an attempt to trigger growth. Such practice is commonplace in the US.
Indeed, Manchester United invited such offers in their sale process, which remains ongoing.
Businesses such as 777 bring in know-how in areas such as commercial and digital, which form part of an overreaching plan to increase revenue.
With Everton set to move to a new stadium – and the opportunities that provides – such expertise could be key as they seek to monetize a new era away from Goodison Park.
777 say they ‘excel at identifying potential where others do not’ adding ‘it is one of our defining traits’.
They add: ‘We uncover unique opportunities to help undervalued teams transform from clubs into highly profitable media and entertainment properties’.
They have stakes in Genoa, Vasco de Gama, Standard Liege and Sevilla. In the field of aviation, they introduced a new class of ‘digital low-cost carriers’.
Source: Dailymail
