As 777 Partners’ attempts to complete a takeover of Everton continue to flounder, MSP Sports Capital could buy the club with a view to making a quick sale, reckons Keith Wyness.
Everton announced on September 15 that 777 Partners had signed an agreement with majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri to acquire his entire 94.1% stake in the club and that closing of the transaction was expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2023. However, over eight months on, the Miami-based private investment firm, who have been dogged by payment issues at clubs they do own (Standard Liege in Belgium and Vasco da Gama in Brazil) and hit by legal challenges, have still yet to be given the green light on the purchase by the five members of the Premier League board.
The technicalities look set to end on May 31, the group’s share purchase agreement deadline, with the 777 deal now looking dead in the water and there seems little appetite for Josh Wander and company among Everton’s supporters – the Fan Advisory Board questioned the suitability of 777 in a virtual meeting with Moshiri, who was not in the UK, last week. MSP previously entered into an exclusivity agreement with Moshiri over buying the club outright, but talks fell through last summer, but they have loaned Everton £158million and it is understood they would be entitled to a majority share in the club if they default on that agreement.
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Wyness, who was Everton’s chief executive between 2004-09 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted the Blues will be a “totally different asset” by next year when they move from Goodison Park to their 52,888 capacity new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock if their Premier League status is maintained again. The 66-year-old suggested the 2024/25 campaign could become a “holding season” if MSP take over – with Premier League survival “crucial” to their potential plans.
He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “It may be that someone like MSP Sports Capital try and hold the club together next season.
“They then end up with a totally different asset that they can sell on in 2025. It could be a club in the Premier League with a completely new stadium.
“2024-25 could be a holding season. It becomes just as crucial as the last few relegation fights, with Premier League status the absolute priority.”
