A consortium of international investors led by an Everton fan and including the Saudi royal family has emerged as the new favourite in the long-running Everton FC takeover saga.
The consortium’s leader, London-based lawyer, tech investor IMS Digital Ventures partner and Everton fan Vatch Manukian, has reportedly submitted a £400m all-equity bid for the Merseyside club and spoken to current owner Farhad Moshiri over the weekend.
According to The Independent, Manukian has been in contact with Moshiri for weeks as he planned his approach for the club.
The proposal, whose other key backers include American investors, a Saudi royal and the billionaire Australian Myer family, would not involve leveraging extra debt on to Everton and putting its future at risk and would also include new operational cash and setting up a sustainable long-term strategy.
The race to take over the football club ahead of its move into a state-of-the-art new stadium next season has hotted up again after struggling US investment firm 777 Partners’ exclusivity agreement with Moshiri expired last month, seemingly ending the possibility of a deal with the crisis-hit suitor.
A further two possible offers are currently believed to be on the table at Everton. One from from two Liverpool-based businessmen Andy Bell and George Downing, which includes £350m in financing from BDT and MSD partners, and a second from a new US group led by MSP Sports Capital, who were in talks to acquire a 25% stake in the club in 2023 before the deal was rejected by one of Everton’s largest creditors, Rights and Media Funding Limited.
