EVERTON are in the midst of a takeover.
The fallen Premier League giant’s owners are reportedly ‘close’ to a deal with US investment firm, 777 Partners.
Josh Wander is one of the co-founder’s of 777 PartnersAFP
Entrepreneur Steven Pasko is Wander’s co-partner
According to Bloomberg, Farhad Moshiri has been locked in talks with the Miami-based company who are desperate to add the prestigious English club to their business portfolio.
777 Partners already boast several ties in football, including owning 70 per cent of CR Vasco da Gama, which was the biggest transaction in the history of the Brazilian game, as well as Genoa in Serie A.
They have assets in aviation with low-budget airlines in Canada and Australia.
But, more glamorously, their investment in Hollywood film studio STX Entertainment has seen them involved in the production of the Oscar-nominated The Irishman and the eagerly anticipated Ferrari biopic.
Formation
777 Partners was formed in 2015 by business entrepreneurs Steven Pasko and Josh Wander.
They focus their efforts on seven core industries: Insurance, Aviation, Sports, Media & Entertainment, Fintech, Litigation Finance, Private Credit, and Sustainability.
To date, they have over 50 portfolio companies and operate in over 20 countries around the world.
But it was sport where they realised they could capitalise financially.
Sport
Seeing an opportunity in LaLiga, they bought a minority stake at Spanish football club Sevilla in 2018.
Two years later, they elevated their share to 7.5 per cent. That was just the beginning.
In 2021, they bought 99.99 per cent of Italy’s oldest club, Genoa in an estimated deal worth around £130million.
They followed that up with the purchase of a 70 per cent stake in Brazil’s Vasco da Gama.
That R$700million (around £113million) deal was the biggest takeover in Brazilian football history.
It valued the club at an astonishing £275million, although they are currently struggling in the Brazilian top flight.
Belgium’s Standard Liege are 100 per cent owned by 777, while they have a majority ownership of German side Hertha Berlin and a minority stake in Melbourne Victory.
They faced backlash when they bought France’s third tier side Red Star because of the club’s working-class and left-wing history, and concerns that the club would become a farm team for 777’s other assets.
GettyFormer Genoa coach Alexander Blessin head coach jokes with Pasko and Wander[/caption]
A deal for for Vasco da Gama was the biggest in Brazilian football history
Elsewhere, their investment in basketball in the UK hasn’t gone unnoticed.
They bought the London Lions, London’s sole men’s professional basketball team. They then invested £7million for 45 per cent of the British Basketball League.
Aviation
While Arsenal and Man City have significant investment from major airlines Emirates and Etihad respectively, 777 Partners have gone down the low-budget route with their investments.
Their assets in aviation include Canadian company, Flair Airlines who operate with a fleet of Boeing 737’s.
Australia’s Bonza is another backed by 777, another low-cost carrier who specialise in predominantly serving under-utilised domestic and regional routes within Australia.
Expect to see one of those airlines pop up as a sponsor on a billboard at Goodison Park or on the famous blue shirt.
Hollywood
Last year, by far the most glam of their investments, 777 ploughed money into a Burbank, Hollywood film studio called STX Entertainment.
STX scored a major worldwide distribution deal for the Oscar-nominated Martin Scorsese flick, The Irishman starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro,
However, this year they could be set for bigger acclaim.
Their latest film, the Ferrari biopic, has just earned a seven-minute-standing ovation from an audience at the Venice Film Festival.
It is already generating plenty of Oscar buzz.
GettyFlair Airlines boast a fleet of Boeing 737’s[/caption]
Splash NewsMartin Scorsese’s flick The Irishman was distributed internationally by STX Entertainment, backed by 777 Partners[/caption]
AlamyFerrari, starring Adam Driver, is already earning critical buzz[/caption]
Drugs bust
However, it has not always been plain-sailing for one of the entrepreneurs who fronts the business.
According to Brazilian outlet O Globo, co-founder Josh Wander was arrested for cocaine trafficking in 2003, when he was a student.
Police allegedly caught him with 31 grams of the white powder, which he claimed was for him and a friend.
He was sentenced in 2004 and was released on a long period of parole that ended in 2019, the report revealed.
In another damning article from Josimar football, there were alarming allegations that 777-affiliated companies have been involved in activities such as kidnapping, predatory lending, and fraud.
777 Partners have dismissed these claims as “inaccurate and defamatory.”
As one of the oldest clubs in the Premier League, Everton deserve a new ownership that will nurture them back to financial health and Premier League stability.
The test of time will tell if 777 are the right group for the job.
Josh Wander was arrested for cocaine trafficking in 2003Getty