Everton's minority shareholders won't be pushed into selling their stake in the club should the proposed sale of the club to a US consortium go ahead.
Blues owner Farhad Moshiri is currently in talks with a US group being fronted by former Manchester United and Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon and financed by Maciek 'MG' Kaminski, a Minneapolis-based real estate magnate, as well as mining and private investment chief John Thornton. After a letter of intent was signed the two are now in a period of exclusivity to allow further talks and due diligence to take place.
Talks are said to be "progressing well" according to a source close to the Kaminski bid, with the ECHO being informed yesterday that the bid for the club itself would be made up of equity only and would not use debt, avoiding any leveraged buyout concerns that may have been lingering. The capital expenditure needed to complete the stadium, believed to be around £500m, may be subject to refinancing.
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Moshiri presently owns 94.1 per cent of Everton's shares, with his Blue Heaven Holdings Ltd holding 127,031 shares. Chairman Bill Kenwright holds 1.3 per cent of shares, a total of 1,750, while the remainder (4.6 per cent) is made up of 6,219 minority shares held by individuals.
The ECHO understands that 'conversations are ongoing' between the would-be new owners and Kenwright over his shareholding moving forward, while a source close to the bid confirmed that minority shareholders would not be forced to sell their shares should the Kaminski/Thornton bid be successful.
It is Kaminski who is understood to be providing the bulk of financing, with the vehicle for the bid being KAM Sports LLC, a firm set up with the aim of creating a multi-club sports portfolio with Everton as its flagship. Kaminski's son, Mikhail, is the sole registered officer of KAM Sports and is expected to take a role at board level should the deal be completed.
It is also understood that the group, who have committed to improving communication with Everton fans, are aware of the AGM having been scrapped earlier this year and aware of the feeling around that, although no decisions have yet been taken over that matter.
The Kenyon/Kaminski/Thornton bid is aiming to complete a deal as soon as possible and have eyed a potential positive conclusion by July 21, when Everton take on Minnesota United as part of their US tour in the city of Minneapolis, the home city of Kaminski and his family.
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