A consortium of international investors led by an Everton fan has submitted a £400m all-equity bid for the Merseyside club.
Vatche Manoukian made the offer to current owner Farhad Moshiri on Friday and spoke to Everton’s majority shareholder on Saturday. He has been in contact with Moshiri for weeks as he planned his approach for the club.
His proposal would not involve leveraging extra debt on to Everton and putting its future at further risk and would entail providing operational cash and setting up a sustainable long-term strategy.
The Manoukian bid was well received and he is confident in its prospects, though Moshiri has received other expressions of interest. Manoukian is ready to move quickly if his offer is accepted and would ideally like a deal to be concluded in the next couple of months.
Manoukian – a London-based businessman and lawyer and an Everton supporter – is a partner at tech investment firm IMS Digital Ventures and has put together a group including American investors, a Saudi royal and the Australian Myer family. Myer Family Investments has a net asset value of around $1.5bn.
Manoukian has had conversations with Everton’s current debtholders. Everton owe £160m to MSP Sports Capital, Andy Bell and George Downing and £225m to Rights & Media Funding. They were loaned around £200m by 777 Partners during their protracted attempt to buy the club, with A-Cap now taking over the interest of the crisis-hit Miami-based firm.
His consortium are millennials who believe they bring business, tech and digital knowledge. This is their first venture into football and they regard Everton as a sleeping giant – perhaps the last on the market in England – especially with their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock nearing completion. They hope to take Everton back to their traditional position at the top of the game,
Manoukian and his group are impressed with the work manager Sean Dyche and director of football Kevin Thelwell have done in retaining their Premier League status on a limited budget in the last two seasons.
There are at least three other parties who have shown interest in buying Everton since 777’s period of exclusivity expired at the end of May, and when they were unable to find the funds.
Merseyside businessmen Bell and Downing are part of one consortium, while MSP have also considered taking control. Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor has spoken publicly about his wish to buy Everton, though he would have to sell his 45 per cent stake in the Eagles first.