Governing body’s board wrote to the club saying it was minded to approve the sale providing stringent financial stipulations are met
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Everton takeover: 777 faces Premier League ultimatum on funding
Governing body’s board wrote to the club saying it was minded to approve the sale providing stringent financial stipulations are met
Everton’s prospective new owners are facing a Premier League ultimatum as the approval process for their takeover reaches its endgame.
It has emerged that the league’s board wrote to Everton this week confirming it was “minded to approve” 777 Partners becoming their new owners subject to stringent conditions being met.
Telegraph Sport has been told those conditions included stipulations around funding for the club and a failure to comply would lead to the takeover being rejected.
The letter represented the beginning of the end of a process that has dragged on for more than six months since 777 first struck a deal with Everton’s majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri.
The group has been bankrolling the club since then via a series of multi-million-pound loans and Telegraph Sport has been told it is resigned to continuing to do so beyond the end of this month, with a final decision on the takeover not now expected until after Easter.
One reason given was Everton’s hearing into an alleged second breach of English football’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, which is expected to be held early next week.
Another is that even if the Premier League board approves the 777 takeover, an independent oversight panel of KCs will be called in to review its conclusions.
The precedent set by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of Manchester United led insiders to conclude that further process alone will take another seven days.
Telegraph Sport has reported previously how 777 appeared unwilling to provide any further loan funding while the takeover saga dragged on.
By the end of this month, it is expected to have handed Everton £200 million to keep the club going.
The 777 group already has a number of football clubs in its portfolio, including Sevilla, Genoa, Hertha Berlin and Standard Liege, with the fans of the Belgian side holding a demonstration criticising the owners’ involvement at their last game.
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