Less than a month after Premier League club Everton confirmed that a much-debated acquisition bid by an American investment firm was officially dead, the legendary English soccer club claims it has another US group ready to become the new owner. Blue Heaven Holdings, the entity through which Farhad Moshiri (above) controls 94.1% of Everton, said it was in talks with the Friedkin Group to acquire a majority stake in the club. The Houston-based corporation already owns Serie A team AS Roma and two prominent golf courses in the Carolinas, as well as various car groups in the United States.
The next possible Everton owner is managed by the company’s chairman and CEO, Dan Friedkin, who is worth $6.1 billion, according to Forbes. That’s significant because the most recent acquisition effort by Miami-based 777 Partners failed after the investment firm was unable to present audited financial statements to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. Time to pay up. Everton was valued at around $685 million when 777 agreed to buy the club, but more recent estimates suggest that overall expenses could be closer to $1 billion, including building of the new stadium and related debts. Friedkin purchased AS Roma in 2020 for approximately $700 million.
The club stated that it will continue to operate normally while negotiations with Friedkin are ongoing. Everton finished 15th out of 20 EPL teams this season, narrowly avoiding relegation due to a penalty for violating financial fair play regulations. Everton, like many of its contemporaries, has historically played summer friendlies in the United States, but has no fixtures scheduled this year.
