Everton Up for Sale as Friedkin Group Weighs Exit Less Than Two Years After Takeover
Everton’s owners are exploring a sale under two years after buying the club. A reported £800m price includes about £380m of debt. Who pays it? (
Everton Back on the Market: Friedkin Group Explores Sale of Controlling Stake
The owners confirmed the move in a club statement on Friday, saying they were open to the "potential sale of a controlling interest". The group said it had brought stability to a club in financial trouble, delivered the new stadium, and now felt the time was right for a new chapter. It added that it would only engage with parties it considered the right stewards.
Texan billionaire Dan Friedkin's group completed its takeover in December 2024, buying Farhad Moshiri's 94.1% stake for a reported £400 million. That deal ended an eight-year Moshiri era and followed the collapse of a proposed buyout by Miami-based 777 Partners. Investment bank Moelis & Company has reportedly been hired to run the process. No buyer has been named.
What the £800m actually means
The headline number needs unpacking. According to The Times' Paul Joyce, as summarised by Read Everton, the figure of roughly £800 million is an enterprise value that includes about £380 million of debt. The equity cheque to TFG would be much smaller than the headline suggests.
Even so, that would be a sizeable uplift on the entry price. TFG also put substantial capital into the club after completion. Per The Swiss Ramble, it converted a £451 million shareholder loan into equity and then injected more to clear third-party debt, taking its holding to 99.5%. The true return depends on how much of that capital is recovered.
Why sell now?
The obvious pull is Rome. TFG also owns AS Roma, where it has invested more than €1 billion and is pushing ahead with the Pietralata stadium, expected to cost around €1.3 billion. Italian reporting suggests avoiding clashes under UEFA's multi-club ownership rules is another factor, should both clubs reach Europe.
The relationship with Merseyside has also looked distant. Manager David Moyes said last month that he had never met or spoken to Friedkin, and the chairman has yet to attend a home game. Moyes told reporters he was "pretty surprised" by Friday's news. His own contract expires at the end of the season.
A test of the post-stadium premium
Fans who sat through the 777 saga will be wary of another long process. The Everton Shareholders' Association welcomed the announcement, but summer sales of key players had already strained trust in the ownership.
The bigger question is for the market. TFG is betting that a finished stadium and a cleaner balance sheet have roughly doubled what the club is worth. No deadline or official valuation has been set.
How bidders respond will show whether new stadiums create real value in Premier League M&A, or whether the debt behind them cancels most of it out.
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