Another Everton sale falls through

MANCHESTER, England (AP):

THE PROPOSED sale of Premier League club Everton to the Texas-based Friedkin Group has fallen through, both parties said in a joint statement on Friday.

The Friedkin Group, which has a portfolio of companies in the automotive, entertainment, hospitality, sports and adventure industries, entered into exclusive discussions to buy a majority stake in Everton last month.

But the two parties said on Friday that discussions had ended and the proposed deal would not go ahead.

“The parties agree it is in both their interests for Everton to explore alternative options,” the joint statement said.

The development places more uncertainty over the future of Everton after the proposed takeover by 777 Partners – a Miami-based private investment firm – collapsed last month.

Nine-time English champions Everton have battled relegation in each of the last three seasons and in their most recent accounts reported losses of $112.5 million.

Last season the club received two separate points deductions for breaching the league’s financial rules, but still retained their top-flight status for another year.

Uncertainty surrounding the club comes at a time when they are constructing a 52,888-capacity stadium, which they are due to move in to next year.

Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, who has as 94.1 per cent stake, said last September that the sale would secure financing to complete the new stadium.

The Friedkin Group’s move for Everton came after it bought Roma for $700 million in 2020. Its other companies include Gulf States Toyota, which Forbes said sold $9.1 billion worth of Toyotas in 2022.

The statement said the group would remain a lender to Everton and was “proud to have played a key role in enabling the new stadium to be built”.

Everton were founding members of the English Football League in 1888 and Premier League in 1992. They were one of English football’s most successful teams in the 1980s – winning the league title twice, the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup.

But they have not won a major trophy since the FA Cup in 1995 and have gone through a period of frequent managerial changes.