777 Partners have been granted additional time to settle a loan that was taken out with MSP Sports Capital to fund construction of the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
A deadline of midnight tonight EST in United States (5am UK time) had been looming for the repayment of £158m owed to MSP, one of the four conditions set out by the Premier League as part of its conditional approval for the Miami-based company to complete its takeover of the Club.
According media reports, an agreement in principle has been reached between Farhad Moshiri and the New York investment firm to extend the deadline which will allow 777 Partners to eventually settle the loan taken out with MSP last year to partially cover building costs of Everton Stadium.
777 Partners remain confident that they can repay the loan and meet all the Premier League’s conditions, which include the placement of £60m into an escrow account and the provision of proof that they can fund Everton’s operations for the next three years.
If the takeover is completed, 777 will convert the reported £160m in loans they have already provided the club into equity.
Had this evening’s last-minute agreement not been struck, MSP Sports Capital would have been in a position to take a 51% controlling stake in Everton, something, it is said, the firm was relucant to do given the size of the Club’s mounting debts.