A member of the Saudi royal family has joined a consortium of international investors to buy Everton.
According to a report from BBC on 10 June, the consortium have made a mouthwatering £400m offer to buy the Toffees.
Farhad Moshiri agreed to sell his 94% shares to 777 Partners back in September last year, but despite taking a lengthy time, they couldn’t complete the deal. As a result, Moshiri is looking for other options and many potential investors have shown interest.
Andy Bell and George Downing, lifelong Everton fans, along with the backing of the Dell family, are in the running for a period of exclusivity.
London-based businessman and lawyer Vatche Manoukian is apparently leading the race, and he made an offer last Friday.
Farhad Moshiri should consider options carefully
Any ownership process takes a lot of time, but Everton is not in a position to find themselves in a situation that could drag on for ages.
As we have seen with Newcastle United, the Premier League took a long time to give the green signal due to the Saudi family’s involvement. The source of funds will be scrutinised properly, but what remains a big obstacle is the human rights issue.
Plus, Saudi involvement could lead to fan backlash and unnecessary media attention. Moshiri must sell his shares to someone whose fund sources will not cause any major hindrance in the takeover process.
Ideally, Everton need stable ownership and under whose guidance the club can achieve great stuff on the pitch.
Manoukian and his consortium have proposed an all-equity offer and they aim to create a sustainable, long-term strategy at Everton. He is a lawyer and businessman, and is a partner at tech investment firm IMS Digital Ventures, backed by Australia’s Myer family.
Roma owner Dan Friedkin is also thought to be interested in buying Moshiri’s majority shares.
