Soccer-Friedkin Group in exclusive talks to buy Everton
Adds details on valuation, current owner in paragraphs 5-6, last season in paragraphs 9-11
June 21 (Reuters) -The Friedkin Group is in exclusive talks to buy Everton, the Premier League soccer club said on Friday, weeks after a takeover agreement with prospective owner 777 Partners fell through.
The Friedkin Group are also majority owners of Italian Serie A club AS Roma.
"Blue Heaven Holdings has received significant interest from several highly respected parties interested in investing in the club," Everton said in a statement.
"The club can confirm today that a period of exclusivity has been granted to The Friedkin Group to progress discussions to acquire a majority shareholding in Everton."
Last year, Miami-based investment fund 777 Partners said it had signed an agreement with British-Iranian billionaire Moshiri to acquire his 94.1% stake in the club in a deal reported to worth more than 550 million pounds ($695 million).
Moshiri, a former Arsenal shareholder, first bought a 49.9% stake in Everton in 2016. By January 2022, he had increased his stake to 94.1% with a 100-million-pound capital injection.
The takeover wasinitially expected to be closed by the end of 2023
However, it wasdelayed as 777 Partners reportedly struggled to meet the necessary conditions outlined by the Premier League to complete their purchase, before itfell through earlier this month when the takeover agreement expired.
Everton, who finished 15th in the standings, found themselves in trouble during the 2023-24 season when they were deducted points twice for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
The Merseyside club were first deducted 10 points in November, although that was reduced to six on appeal in February, while they received a second deduction of two points in April.
Everton briefly flirted with relegation as a result of the deductions but once their top-flight status was secured in May, the club withdrew its appeal against the two-point deduction.
($1 = 0.7915 pounds)
Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra
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