A fresh bid for Everton said to be backed by billionaires with cash ‘ready to go’ has now emerged among the offers competing for Farhad Moshiri’s approval.
The submission, fronted by investment group Vici Private Finance, is understood to be fully-funded. Those behind it are keen to expand on the club’s heritage and the opportunity provided by the new stadium as part of wider vision for the Blues’ growth.
The proposal, advised by former Everton deputy chairman Keith Harris, has been a year in the making – a key step being Vici becoming fully incorporated just before Christmas.
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The bid was submitted to Moshiri last week, meaning it is one of several offers that have been on the table as the club’s majority shareholder considers his next move following the collapse of the takeover deal agreed with 777 Partners. The US group missed the May 31 deadline for its share purchase agreement, providing Moshiri with the opportunity to speak with other parties for the first time in months.
A flurry of interest has followed. Other bids understood by the ECHO to have been submitted include one led by local Everton supporters and successful businessmen Andy Bell and George Downing, financed by the merchant bank that handles the wealth of tech billionaire Michael Dell. A consortium led by London-based businessman Vatche Manoukian and which includes rich US backers and a Gulf royal has also submitted a £400m bid.
Other parties are also influential in the process and are closely following developments. They include MSP Sports Capital, one of the club’s biggest creditors and which is the subject of conflicting reports over a desire to own Everton. A-CAP, which was behind the near-£200m in loans supplied to the club by 777 Partners, is another interested party. US businessmen John Textor and Dan Friedkin are also understood to feature in the complex picture around the future of Everton.
That scene is now known to include the bid led by Vici. It is an offer that does not rely on borrowed money and which is said to have the funding necessary for the short and long term rehabilitation of the club. Those behind it do not have a background specifically in sport but have spent time drawing up the plans, including making overtures to local politicians with the view to ensuring the opportunity to use the club’s new waterfront stadium as a focal point for regeneration is properly exploited.