The Friedkin Group US investment consortium has finalized its purchase of English Premier League soccer side Everton from Farhad Moshiri and his Blue Heaven Holdings (BHH).
The transaction, conducted through Friedkin Group’s Roundhouse Capital Holdings Limited (Roundhouse), sees it acquire a 94% stake in the club.
The purchase has been approved by the Premier League, the Football Association governing body, Women’s Professional Leagues Limited body, and the UK’s financial regulatory body, the Financial Conduct Authority.
Marc Watts, an attorney and member of the Friedkin Group, becomes the new executive chair of the club and will sit on the board, while Friedkin Group chief executive Dan Friedkin will become board chair.
Friedkin Group’s chief financial officer Ana Dunkel and interim Everton chief executive Colin Chong will also join the board, with further appointments to come.
Speaking on the acquisition, Watts stated: “Today marks a momentous and proud occasion for The Friedkin Group as we become custodians of this iconic football club. We are committed to leading Everton into an exciting new era both on and off the pitch.
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By GlobalData“Providing immediate financial stability to the club has been a key priority, and we are delighted to have achieved this. While restoring Everton to its rightful place in the Premier League table will take time, today is the first step in that journey.”
While laying out objectives for the club, on the commercial side the Friedkin Group said it is set on “fostering a distinct on-pitch and commercial strategy for the women’s team,” and “maximising the potential of the new stadium through long-term commercial partnerships and events that benefit the city of Liverpool.”
The Friedkin Group is the company for the collected business enterprises of US businessman Dan Friedkin and his family.
The group had previously been in negotiations with Moshiri earlier in 2024 but backed out of the deal after stating the £200 million ($258.4 million) Everton owes to now collapsed private equity firm 777 Partners and financial insurers A-Cap was a stumbling block due to legal issues 777 faces in the US and the potential risks associated with this.
Now, however, with 777’s dissolution and fraud case underway in the US, the group seems to have been assured of the club’s future financial security.
Before the end of previous negotiations, Friedkin Group injected £200 million into the club and paid off a £158 million loan to MSP Sports Capital and local businessmen Andy Bell and George Downing, so the group remained a lender to the club it will now own.
While Friedkin’s wealth most prominently comes from his ownership of motor vehicle distributor Gulf States Toyota, which he inherited from his father, through Friedkin Group he also owns the high-profile Italian soccer club Roma.
Friedkin purchased Roma for €591 million (then $700 million) in 2020, becoming one of several prominent US owners to enter Italy’s top-flight Serie A in recent times.
While he has invested money into the playing squad and has overseen the club winning the 2021-22 UEFA Europa Conference League, it has not been plain sailing at the Rome-based outfit.
Moshiri purchased 49.9% of Everton in 2016, upping his stake to 94% in 2022. In recent years, the club has been mired in financial difficulty stemming from the withdrawal of major investor Alisher Usmanov and costs surrounding the club’s new Bramley Moore Dock stadium, which is set to open at the start of the 2025-26 season.
Such is the extent of this fiscal malaise that the club has endured several points deductions imposed by the Premier League for financial mismanagement.