The Texas-based Friedkin Group completed its 98.8% purchase of Everton on Thursday, adding the storied Premier League club to its wide-ranging portfolio of investments including Italian team Roma. (More Football News)
It ends a long period of huge uncertainty at Everton, a nine-time English champion which has been an ever-present in the top division since 1954 but has been without a major trophy since 1995.
Fronted by Dan Friedkin and his son Ryan, the group has investments in the automotive industry, entertainment, hospitality and sports. The Friedkins made a fortune distributing Toyotas in Texas.
They take over from Everton's majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, who has been at the club since 2016 but hasn't brought any success despite spending hundreds of millions of pounds on players.
바카라I take immense pride in welcoming one of England's most historic football clubs to our global family,바카라 Dan Friedkin said. "Everton represents a proud legacy, and we are honoured to become custodians of this great institution.
Everton is 16th in the 20-team league and could be facing another fight to avoid a costly relegation from the world's most lucrative soccer league.
There may be some concern among Everton fans about the Friedkins, who have never spoken publicly in the four years since they purchased Roma and are unpopular with supporters after making contentious management changes 바카라 including firing Daniele De Rossi, the club's beloved former captain, this season.
However, the sale will at least remove Everton from the Moshiri era, which promised so much but ultimately failed to deliver.
The club has been haemorrhaging money in recent years as Moshiri desperately sought a buyer, with the team leaving its long-term home of Goodison Park at the end of this season and moving into a new, state-of-the-art stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock that is close to completion.
The Friedkins reached an agreement in principle in June to buy Moshiri's 94% stake, but talks were called off a month later. Everton was then in negotiations with American businessman John Textor, who said he had an exclusivity agreement with the club but needed to first sell his stake in Premier League rival Crystal Palace.
Earlier, a proposed takeover of Everton by 777 Partners collapsed amid worries about the financial stability of the company.
바카라We understand the club has faced significant challenges on and off the pitch for several years,바카라 said Marc Watts, the new executive chairman. 바카라That's why our immediate priority is stabilizing the club and improving results on the pitch.바카라
Watts said the group has provided an undisclosed injection of capital to ensure the completion of the new stadium, converting most of Everton's debt either to equity 바카라repaid or refinanced on terms more favourable to the stability of the club.바카라
The new owners said they had six goals, including 바카라strengthening the men's first-team squad through thoughtful and strategic investment바카라 and 바카라enhancing Everton's reputation as a unique and historical name in world football.바카라
Moshiri said the sale was 바카라the best outcome for the club and its future success.바카라
바카라Despite a challenging geopolitical backdrop, a significant amount has been achieved over the last couple of years including the delivery of a new sporting department, the stabilization of our finances and the delivery of our iconic new stadium,바카라 he said. "I now hand over to new owners confident in the outlook for the club and that our incredible fans will see the success on the pitch that they so thoroughly deserve.바카라
