Everton takeover: Farhad Moshiri and 777 Partners hold face-to-face talks as concerns grow

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has held face-to-face talks with potential owners 777 Partners in London this week after fresh doubt was cast on the deal being done.

Moshiri, who agreed to sell his 94.1% shareholding in the club to the Miami-based investment firm back in September of last year, has held talks with 777 co-founder Josh Wander, as first reported by Sky Sports and since independently verified by the ECHO, in a bid to try and gain some clarity over where the deal stands.

777 Partners has seen their bid to acquire Everton mired in difficulty, with allegations of late or missed payments having been a common theme over the past seven months in relation to the company’s other business interests, while they have been facing a string of legal issues in the United States.

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Over the weekend it was revealed that 777 Partners had been accused of being the architects of a ‘fraudulent scheme’ in civil court filings in New York, a lawsuit brought by London-based Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP and Leadenhall Life Insurance Linked Investments Fund PLC which claimed Wander and 777 Partners, whom Wander co-founded with Steven Pasko in 2015, 'pledged' over $350m (£279m) in assets as collateral for a credit facility agreement, but knew they "did not exist" or were "not actually owned by Wander’s entities.”

Leadenhall's US court filing stated: "Everton is the latest shiny object of Wander’s fraudulent scheme, solvency aside.

"Upon information and belief, Wander and Pasko are operating a giant shell game at best, and an outright Ponzi scheme at worst, that takes money in from investors and lenders and shuffles it around to various money-losing alter egos in the enterprise to disguise their true financial condition."

The lawsuit, which came hot on the heels of the collapse of the budget Australian airline, Bonza, that they were 49% owners of into voluntary administration last week, has only served to intensify the scrutiny on 777 Partners, who have also been at the centre of controversy in Belgium after it emerged that players of one of the multiple clubs they own, Standard Liege, were alleged to not have been paid their most recent wages.

Sources would not disclose the nature of the discussion of the meeting in detail, but it was understood to be centred on Moshiri’s desire to seek some clarity as to whether 777 Partners had the capacity to move forward with the acquisition of the club, something that appears more remote with each passing day. Sky Sports report that clarity on the matter was sought ahead of this weekend’s clash with Sheffield United, the final home game of the season.

The firm continues to scramble to try and find the necessary funds to meet the Premier League’s four conditions that they were presented with last month after the league granted conditional approval. They were: that 777 loans to the club have to be converted into equity; funds are required in an escrow account to meet financial obligations for the remainder of the season; proof of funding for the new stadium completion; and a £158m loan to be repaid to MSP Sports Capital, the New York firm that had loaned Everton money last year for the stadium build.

777 Partners have been providing Everton with working capital since the turn of the year for construction costs and payroll obligations, with that sum now past the £200m mark. A large chunk of 777’s access to cash had come from the relationship he had with Kenneth King’s A-CAP firm, although that firm was encouraged to reduce its exposure to 777-related assets by two US state regulators last month, something that King himself confirmed was to take place via a webinar recently.

With access to cash harder than ever to come by for 777 there are now concerns over whether the firm will have the financial wherewithal to complete, and that has led Moshiri to seek clarity to try and assess what options remain, and indeed if 777 Partners remain a viable one.

The interest-bearing loans from 777 to Everton were junior debt, unsecured on any assets given that existing lenders had already secured their own financing against such assets.

The ECHO has approached both 777 representatives and representatives of Moshiri for comment.