Major Everton financial decision could be just weeks away as Dan Friedkin set to pick up hue bill
With a mini crisis at AS Roma and the final checks ahead of his takeover of Everton being conducted by the Premier League and FCA,...
With a mini crisis at AS Roma and the final checks ahead of his takeover of Everton being conducted by the Premier League and FCA, now is a high-octane time for Dan Friedkin.
The American billionaire lost the support of thousands of Roma fans following his regime’s decision to sack club legend Daniele De Rossi as manager.
De Rossi’s successor in Ivan Juric could now also be fired by Friedkin and his peers in the Roma boardroom after just a few weeks in charge, according to Italian media.
Meanwhile, Friedkin is reportedly looking to sell 30 per cent of his Roma shares after courting investment from Saudi and Qatari suitors.
It hardly makes for ideal background noise as Friedkin looks to get his takeover of Everton done by January.
That said, certain conditions – such as the ongoing court case in the United States involving Everton lender and former takeover suitor 777 Partners – are simply outside of his control.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 11 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 15 |
| 12 |  BrentfordBrentford | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 13 |
| 13 |  Man UtdManchester United | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 12 |
| 14 |  West HamWest Ham | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 11 |
| 15 |  LeicesterLeicester | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 18 | -4 | 10 |
| 16 |  EvertonEverton | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 9 |
| 17 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -5 | 7 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 21 | -11 | 5 |
| 19 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 19 | -12 | 4 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 27 | -13 | 3 |
Overall, Friedkin is considered a highly credible option and one that can bring some much needed stability to Everton after years of PSR purgatory and mismanagement under Farhad Moshiri.
But are still several hurdles still to overcome before the club can get on an even keel once again.
Everton to take on even more debt?
Before the news broke in September that Friedkin had struck a deal with Moshiri to buy Everton, there were concerns that there would be cash flow issues before the end of the year.
As well as having an annual wage bill of well over £100m to service, Everton also have increasing interest payments and costs associated with the move to the Bramley Moore Dock stadium to bear.
Prior to Friedkin signing heads of terms, Everton’s debt will believed to be around £600-700m.
£200m of that was owed to Friedkin himself, which will presumably be converted into equity as part of his agreement with Moshiri.
The loan from 777 Partners, now taken over by A-Cap, is worth another £200m. They are a junior lender but the noise is that Friedkin will repay that too as part of the takeover.
Rights and Media Funding, a Cheshire-based lender, are also owed around £150m.
But finance expert and former Man City adviser Stefan Borson has said via X that he predicts that Everton could be about to take on even more debt before the end of November.
Any new loans, he suggests, would likely go towards general working capital commitments, as opposed to a pay-off for Sean Dyche, whose position as manager is under increasing scrutiny.
Taking on new debt could be one of Moshiri’s final acts at Goodison Park, although the terms of his deal with Friedkin would mean any debt agreement would need the new owner’s sign-off.
Everton’s debt situation explained
As long as it is manageable, debt is not necessarily a bad thing for a football club.
Under Moshiri, however, the club was approaching a position whereby they may soon have struggled to cope with repayments and high interest rates.
The borrowing environment at present is not especially favourable, with interest rates stubbornly high.
But Friedkin has the liquidity to settle Everton’s debt if he chooses to go down that route.
Alternatively, he could significantly reduce the debt sitting on the balance sheet but feel that some of his capital is best reserved for other expenses.
Either way, the Houston-born investor turned film producer will alleviate the strain on the Merseysiders.
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