Everton takeover: 777 Partners have assets seized after court order

The football assets of the investment firm that still has hopes of buying Everton have been seized by a Belgian court.

Miami-based 777 Partners has seen its control of the top-flight club it owns, Standard Liege, and its other assets in the country placed in the hands of the courts following a court order in Liege earlier today, according to reports in Belgium via the RTBF Actus news website.

The reports claim that the seizure of the assets took place following a complaint made by Standard Liege chairman and former owner Bruno Vernanzi and shareholders of the club’s stadium, who alleged that 777 Partners had not paid them the second instalment of the money owed for them for the 2022 purchase of the team.

Speaking to RTBF Actus, Vernanzi said: “Following the seizure of the assets of 777 including the shares of real estate and the club as well as accounts in Belgium, we hope that this approach will encourage 777 and/or its crisis manager to answer our questions and requests, which have so far been ignored.

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“Without a response from them, we will take new actions to protect our interests and those of Standard de Liège. Our priority is to ensure the continuity and stability of the Club in the short, medium, and long term. We are available to the Club's management to help them find a lasting solution for Standard de Liège."

Earlier this month it emerged that Standard Liege players had not been paid for April, and that they risked not receiving wages until the end of the season.

It is the latest development in the unravelling of 777 Partners portfolio of investments, with reports from Brazil on Wednesday revealing that the ownership group risked losing permanent control of Brazilian side Vasco da Gama, with co-founders of 777, Josh Wander and Steven Pasko, removed from the board via a court order.

Last month, 777’s budget airline Bonza collapsed into voluntary administration, while they had access to their biggest source of funding, A-CAP, turned off after A-CAP were encouraged by two US state regulators to reduce their exposure to 777.

Yet 777 Partners still remain in the frame to acquire Everton after it emerged that Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri had ‘extended’ the deadline for 777 to raise the capital to meet the Premier League’s requirements of the company, as set out in March.

The sticking point was alleged to be the repayment of a £158m loan due to MSP Sports Capital, a creditor of Everton, but with access to capital diminished and the company facing legal action over unpaid bills, as well as a civil suit in New York and accusations of fraud by a London-based lender, Leadenhall Capital, who claim to have provided some $600m in funds to 777, there seems little to no chance of a deal being done.

Sources that the ECHO has spoken to continue to maintain that the original deal was in place until the end of May but that a decision to pivot away from 777 and seek alternatives has already privately been made by Moshiri.

Even if 777 Partners can come up with the Everton cash it would almost certainly require a re-evaluation of the situation by the Premier League given what has transpired since the League informed the US firm it was ‘minded’ to approve its bid on four conditions back in March.

777 Partners have been approached for comment.