The American firm that has been linked with a £600m takeover of Everton had been in discussions with the owners of Newcastle United over a potential multi-club investment deal.
On Wednesday evening the Daily Mail reported that Miami-based 777 Partners were leading the way for a potential purchase of Everton owner Farhad Moshiri’s full shareholding in a £600m deal, which could be in place by as early as ‘next week’, depending on whether the Toffees can secure their Premier League status this weekend.
777 Partners had for some time been linked with an Everton deal as Moshiri sought to sell some of his 94 per cent shareholding in the club in a bid to recapitalise the business on the back of some bruising financial performances in recent years and the need to find the remaining funding for the club’s new stadium build at Bramley Moore Dock.
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Back in March, Bloomberg reported that 777 had held exploratory discussions with PCP Capital Partners, the fund that part owns Newcastle and which is run and was co-founded by Amanda Staveley.
The discussions were said to centre around 777 raising debt and equity with a view to expanding the ambitions of PCP to acquire stakes in more football clubs to create a multi-club portfolio, something that has grown in popularity in recent years as ownership groups look to find synergies, both financially and competitively, across their assets.
Deliberations, the report claimed, were at the early stages back in March and there was no certainty that any deal would be reached.
Speaking at the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in London in March, where the ECHO were in attendance, Staveley was one of the keynote speakers and addressed the question of multi-club ownership.
“Obviously we’ve looked at multi-club,” said Staveley, who brokered the 2021 deal for the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund to acquire Newcastle.
“Whenever you look at multi-club you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right fit. It’s complicated and we’re also looking at another structure, maybe something a little bit different that gives us more opportunity to work with a lot more clubs (without buying stakes in them)."
Co-founded in 2015 by Josh Wander and Steven Pasko, 777 Partners has ownership stakes in other clubs such as Hertha Berlin, Genoa, Standard Liege, Red Star FC, Sevilla and Vasco da Gama. The firm has a portfolio that includes assets from sports, media and entertainment, fintech, aviation and private credit, it has some $6bn in assets under management.
Another US investment firm, MSP Sports Capital, remains in the frame over a potential investment deal.
When contacted by the ECHO, 777 Partners declined to comment on any potential discussions with Everton.
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