The next stage of Dan Friedkin’s Everton takeover will be completed within the next 24 hours, but it is taking place against a worrying financial backdrop.
Friedkin has signed an agreement to conduct exclusive talks with Farhad Moshiri, which is expected to result in the US billionaire taking control of the club.
Although Friedkin’s ownership of AS Roma could cause complications at Everton, the 59-year-old is considered a far more credible investor than the likes of 777 Partners.
But he will have his work cut out for him on Merseyside, where the Toffees have been hamstrung by Profit and Sustainability and cash flow issues in recent years.
The latest financial data emerging from Goodison Park is emblematic of the size of the task at hand for Friedkin.
Everton hold two unwanted Premier League records
In their Annual Review of Football Finance, leading international accountancy firm Deloitte revealed how Everton’s finances stack up against the rest of the Premier League.
It does not make for good reading for Everton fans, who will see that they are the only club whose revenue and wage bill shrank in 2022-23, the last campaign for which financial data is available.
Their turnover fell from £181m in 2021-22 to £172m the following season, while the wage bill fell from £172m to £166m over the same period. Those are reductions of five and four per cent respectively.
Of course, the reduction in the wage bill reflects Everton’s efforts to get costs under control, but it is emblematic of the tough situation in which Everton find themselves.
Official Everton takeover update expected soon
Meanwhile, prominent football finance writer and Everton supporter The Esk has forecasted that the next step signalling Friedkin’s impending takeover will be completed soon.
On X, The Esk claimed that a charge from Blythe would soon disappear from the subsidiary company through which finance is provided for Everton’s stadium construction project at Bramley Moore Dock.
Blythe are in turn the company representing MSP Sports Capital, the private equity group who loaned Everton over £150m prior to their failed bid to take over the club.
In layman’s terms, the disappearance of the Blythe charge and the presence of a new one on the Companies House register indicates that Friedkin has taken over the loan from MSP.
That is a big step forward in a protracted takeover saga that has now run for well over a year.
Once Friedkin has agreed the final terms of a deal with Moshiri, the concluding stage of the process will be Premier League ratification, which is expected to pass without issue.
