Everton remain in limbo as “nothing is happening” on the takeover front at Goodison Park, according to Matt Slater.
Speaking on The Athletic FC Podcast (4 September), Slater said he had made several calls this week to people with an interest in the club, but is yet to hear of anyone making a breakthrough in negotiations.
The Friedkin Group, who themselves pulled out of takeover talks in July, are owed £200million for a loan previously given to the club, and that has become a stumbling block for prospective buyer John Textor.
Slater said: “Nothing is happening at the moment. I can stop there because that’s the reality. I sensed nothing was happening and I checked last night.
“I went around all the houses, all the people with an interest in the club and asked ‘you heard anything?’. Nothing. Nobody has made a serious or credible offer to the Friedkin Group for the £200m they are owed.”
Slater went on to add: “As a condition of their loan, [Friedkin Group] want repaying for any takeover. They’ve said that clearly. Nobody has spoken to them, which is interesting and problem number one for John Textor.
Everton takeover going nowhere as uncertainty rumbles on
The takeover impasse at Goodison Park has been apparent for well over a year now, with Textor hardly the first prospective new owner to have obstacles in his way before buying the cash-strapped club.
As things stand, Textor doesn’t look like being the last either, with more stumbling blocks than most in his way before he can even pursue a buyout – notably a hard-to-shift 45 per cent stake in Crystal Palace [Paul Brown, 9 August].
With 777 Partners and the Friedkin Group having already fallen by the wayside and seeing takeover talks with Farhad Moshiri break down over numerous issues, Everton’s saviour, if there is one, remains unclear.
A £200m loan owed to the Friedkin Group, who themselves paid off previous loans owed to the likes of MSP Capital, leaves further gaps in the finances at Goodison Park for any new owner to worry about.
A breakthrough for Textor and the Toffees cannot come soon enough, but with “nothing” happening at the time of writing, it’s anyone’s guess as to when this long-awaited takeover will finally go through.
