Everton have reportedly been offered a further loan of up to £150m by the private equity firm that was recently said to have been in talks with 777 Partners in connection with their takeover bid for the Club.
According to Bloomberg and now BBC Sport, New York-based GDA Luma Capital have presented a debt-financing proposal to the Blues which would allow the Club to complete construction of the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock and navigate the takeover uncertainty surrounding 777’s ability to get a deal over the line for Farhad Moshiri’s majority shareholding.
Everton declined to comment on the reports and Evertonian finance expert, The Esk, has dismissed the possibility as unlikely but the BBC’s Shamoon Hafez understands that the loan would not be convertible to equity or imply any involvement in 777’s takeover.
This development follows on from a report earlier this month that 777 Partners were reportedly seeking funds from a new private equity firm, with Blue Owl Capital and GDA Luma named as possible sources of fresh funds.
In the interim, however, 777 have hit a number of roadblocks, not least a $600m dollar lawsuit in New York alleging massive fraud, the credit-downgrade of their 777Re reinsurance subsidiary, and the collapse of Australian budget airline, Bonza.
Though Moshiri has extended the deadline by which the Miami investment fund needs to find the money to enable them to meet the Premier League’s conditions for approval of their ownership of Everton, it is generally thought that 777 Partners will not be able to complete the takeover.