777 Partners reject claims takeover bid has stalled

After the latest articles in the media during the last couple of days, I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that there is a very tangled web involved here.

Things ain't looking good through my glasses.

Except on the pitch maybe...

Hopefully the end game is nearing because these loans cannot just keep mounting up.

Who is waiting in the wings?

I wonder if he fancies another team from the North West to turn us into a powerhouse to get his own back at Man Utd?

777 Partners need to pull out asap – PLEASE.

I'm not sure I want any dodgy, oil soaked sheikh buying us but I suppose beggars can't be choosers. I feel sick now.

They need to go from understudy to lead quite quickly.

It's 777 or bust. So bust it is.

777 can’t even pay their own staff or rent for their offices!!

Maybe the devil really is in the detail!!

At the first actual meeting, they just dictate what they want to happen. The Premier League Owner's and Director's Test would have a remit that 777 Partners would find ieasy to pass. The FCA are a different kettle of fish.

I don't know where this leaves Everton and Moshiri. Who pushed him out to make that recent statement? Now looking very much similar to that disingenuous interview, as Kieran rightly called it, with Jazz Bal.

I really can't believe the situation that our Chairman's handpicked and long sought-after choice has got Everton into, with his advice. Also wondering about Rights & Media Funding.

Everton will survive and I will continue to support them. Someone is going to get a Premier League club for a bargain. They will have to have the necessary criteria for regulatory approval though. Still, I think Usmanov is involved somewhere.

I know it's a long shot but sometime, the sun will start shining on us Blues again!

Much like the horse punchers up the road, we have some key super positive attributes including seriously undeveloped marketing, a large and passionate fanbase, a glorious history and most importantly (in a business sense) a brand new stadium closing in on completion.

The debts and current negative financial situation are small beer to these deep-pocketed potential buyers, the growth potential for Everton is huge in a league that wealthy pursuers want in on.

Much like our team who seem to have turned a corner, as much in performances as results, this hopefully is the turning point for the club's financial future and direction.

It's looking grim and could be a long road back but it's inevitable that Everton will come back.

I suppose the whole Moshiri thing was built on sand anyway, as it's clear that he was the vessel for Mr Usmanov's money laundering.

But even then, Everton might just have steered clear of trouble had the war in Ukraine not come along, leading to the resultant freeze on the finances and assets of Putin's loyal oligarchs. The money then dries up, and Moshiri seeks to cut his losses.

Oh well, only a matter of a week now until the club's fate – in the short term at least – is revealed with the findings of the independent commission. Wouldn't it be sooo Everton for us to have a rare, hard-fought win at Anfield, only for the imposition of a 9-point deduction?

I'm told reports saying 777 Partners' takeover of Everton having stalled are "wide of the mark".

The 12-week process of the deal is still ongoing, talks with FCA continuing and 777 have provided the historical information requested. #EFC bbcfootball

Remember folks, it's derby week, anything that rocks the Everton boat will be welcomed by the rivals, stand by for more of the same until Saturday, possibly a world exclusive in the Mail, or an expose by the Guardian.

There is an understandable tendency for all of us to take too much notice of these reports when they seem to indicate some negative events for Everton.

Of course we are all right to be concerned about 777 Partners and all of the other issues we have as a club, and I so wish that everything that Moshiri is and has been involved with was more transparent and less open to conjecture and interpretation.

It used to be that an accountant would be able to present accurate information in a clear and concise way but, in this modern world, accountants have become magicians, using smoke and mirrors to aid their predictions and financial forecasts, until nobody is at all sure how much money is in the bank, how much has been spent, and how much is owed to creditors.

We as a club and supporters need a proper magician who can produce a proverbial rabbit out of the hat. I don't see 777 Partners as that – I see them as more Moshiri, but without the open wallet.

New York Times saying they have not submitted the required documentation, 777 says they have.

I think administration is a last resort. Two things happen, as I understand it:

1) All football-related debts (eg, players, fees owed to other clubs) are prioritised. This often leads to even HMRC not being fully paid. The owners likely get nothing, certainly for their equity.

2) There is an automatic points deduction which I believe is 12 points. That, together with the necessary fire sale of players and even the ground means near-certain relegation.

Unless I'm missing something, this puts Moshiri in a negotiating position as weak as a kitten and I can well imagine that fact is not lost on 777 Partners, in driving a hard bargain, and possibly a still harder one, if needed.

The only issue from their side is they already have exposure in the form of loans. I wonder what degree of security they have on those? If not against the stadium, and thus with R&MF's agreement (and possibly MSP's), then not much.

You could make a movie out of all this…

It sounds ridiculous, but this is what I heard. And when this other company told Everton that they had stopped talking because this is usually what happens once you get rejected, they were told 777 Partners were only providing a loan. 🤦‍♂️

I've been ridiculed by one or two, but this is coming from people who have been involved in this type of deal before.

Almost everyone who is lucky enough to live to a certain age will eventually understand the saying about truth being stranger than fiction – especially in the murky world of finance.

I'm going to have to start checking my story's because they do sound full of shite. I even had one fella in the gym telling me that Bill Kenwright was knocking on his door about one month ago, thinking he was at Mike Lyons's daughter's house.

I said to this man, “Are you sure, he's not supposed to be well” and the reply was that he was having the banter, and seemed perfectly fine.

Please don't tell Michael I was always gullible as a child Dave, he would really love that!

I'm told reports saying 777 Partners' takeover of Everton having stalled are "wide of the mark".

The 12-week process of the deal is still ongoing, talks with FCA continuing and 777 have provided the historical information requested. #EFC #bbcfootball.

Don't be surprised if Disney or Elon Musk makes the next bid.

If the regulatory authorities don't like the set of accounts 777 have provided, I'm sure 777 can provide another set.

If the above story is true, it is possible that Everton could be approaching other interested parties.

Barry H - Good post.

Every little helps.

A scouser I know, who is involved in this type of deal, said, "Although I'm a Red, I'm still gutted for the Bluenoses in my family and also for a lot of genuine Evertonians that I know because the fans are getting completely hoodwinked."

There is a definite twist in the tale of this story, if it was to be true, but as things stand 777 Partnersare supposedly the only deal in town.

I keep thinking Usmanov must be behind the deal, but I've been assured that, with the current sanctions in place against the Russian oligarchs, then any Americans wishing to get in bed with Big Al would be operating in an extremely stupid and very dangerous manner.

Maybe it was Jerome or Barry H, that suggested it might be possible for 777 to return the club to our current owners if the current situation changes, and this does seem feasible (to me) because something about this deal does seem very puzzling, imo.

And who strangely appear to have connections to the Theatre World!!! Boys Pen Bullshit Bill by chance … ???

Now this… well, what a surprise.

I've said recently that, if we are still as we are this time next season, I will be surprised. When does our boat dock, when does the tide turn, where is the golden vision?

How right you are in respect of Usmanov. Moshiri was and still probably is his puppet. Nothing stopping Usmanov talking to the Qataris, if he hasn't already!

The 777 supposed buyout of Moshiri's shares seems a tad murky, but then again that's Everton's current off-field business dealings and activities.

Albeit an old cliche, once an Evertonian, you're in for life.
I'd rather concentrate on the team, rather than the murky dealings upstairs. Hopefully the independent commission will be lenient with us, then things will start moving.

I don't think Moshiri and friends will come back once they leave. But Evertonians can only wonder at what is going on at the moment.

If you follow a club, you would prefer a solid business model that was orientated to providing a successful team. Anyone on ToffeeWeb is very concerned about what is going on, naturally enough.

Both Moshiri and Wander would be better to shut up, because their reasoning is coming across as excuses and justification without being born up by facts.

I fear if it goes tits up, only 777 Partners will take a gamble, recover their losses short term, then sell big when we move to the new stadium, offering a sports venue to hire out, and increased revenue on additional season ticket sales.

If we get a slap on the wrist, I suspect other interested parties will step in, and throw their hat into the ring.

Taking one game at a time, it would be wonderful to win the first of those at Anfield, though for the club's medium-term well-being Wednesday's independent commission hearing is more important than Saturday's game.

I believe a positive outcome from the hearing will help to clarify matters for all those to whom we are in debt and for potential purchasers.

I'm astonished that Moshiri is entertaining them – he could be back to square one very soon, but saddled with even more debt and wasted time.

If so, then the FCA must have them now too and the New York Times article is as they say “wide of the mark”. Something doesn't add up.

Everton announced one for MSP's bid in May, but not for 777 Partners.

So there does not appear to be anything contractual preventing another bidder from coming in.

Does that sound credible? Or is it just TalkShite talking shite?

There are multiple artisan owners in the Premier League now, I've never seen so much shit thrown at a company or perspective buyer.

There can't be so many stories of mismanagement, financial irregularities, unpaid bills, dodgy dealings and an inability to finance this deal, without some of it being true.

We are in position that beggers can't be choosers. I was positive about 777 Partners in the beginning, I still think they can't do any worse than Forehead Moshiri. But do they really know what it takes to run this club, without us having all this noise and negativity?

If they pass all the regulatory checks and the green light is given, surely it will put to bed a lot of the speculation.

As I understand it, first and foremost it's the Financial Conduct Authority that requires the documentation, and no "deadline" has been announced, nor has any news story referred to a specific date or timeline.

The media really is stirring the pot.

"Eventually, the prospect of tossing one of Belgian soccer's biggest teams out of the league was deemed unacceptable by the committee, and a compromise was found. Now, 777 Partners finds itself in the same position.”

Is it Groundhog Day because they allegedly haven't delivered audited accounts for the Everton takeover? Sounds like they may be banking on the UK authorities doing the same.

There may be a contract for the sale in place between 777 Partners and Moshiri that would prevent Moshiri from entertaining other bidders. In fact, I'd say it's most likely as I can't see 777 providing funding and talking to the FCA if there's a possibility they'll be gazumped.

“We have submitted all relevant documentation to the FCA in line with their requests, and indicative timings,” a spokesman said.

As part of their commitment to the process 777 have already lent the club £20m to cover the club's running costs while the process plays out and I understand a further £20m has been now been committed.

A third payment is expected before the end of year deadline for the completion of the takeover and that £60m would be converted into equity if the takeover is completed.

Everton's 777 takeover to go ahead despite FFP investigation and possible points deduction