(Reuters) -The Friedkin Group have reached agreement with Blue Heaven Holdings over the terms of the sale of Farhad Moshiri’s majority stake in Everton, the Premier League club said on Monday.
The announcement comes two months after the Friedkin Group had abandoned plans to buy a majority stake in the Merseyside club after being granted a period of exclusivity.
The Friedkin Group, majority owners of AS Roma, were in exclusive talks to buy a stake in Everton after a takeover agreement with prospective owners 777 Partners fell through.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement to become custodians of this iconic football club,” a spokesperson for the Friedkin Group said in a statement.
“We are focused on securing the necessary approvals to complete the transaction. We look forward to providing stability to the club, and sharing our vision for its future, including the completion of the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.”
The deal is subject to regulatory approval, including from the Premier League, the Football Association and the Financial Conduct Authority, the club statement added.
Last year, Miami-based investment fund 777 Partners said it had signed an agreement with British-Iranian billionaire Moshiri to acquire his 94.1% stake in the club in a deal reported to worth more than 550 million pounds ($733.10 million).
Moshiri, a former Arsenal shareholder, first bought a 49.9% stake in Everton in 2016. By January 2022, he had increased his stake to 94.1% with a 100 million pounds capital injection.
The takeover was initially expected to be closed by the end of 2023. However, it was delayed as 777 Partners reportedly struggled to meet the necessary conditions outlined by the Premier League to complete their purchase, before it fell through in June when the takeover agreement expired.
Everton flirted with relegation last season after having points deducted twice for breaching the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
But they finished 15th after winning five of their last eight games to secure their top-flight status. They now sit second-bottom of the table with one point from five matches.
($1 = 0.7502 pounds)
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Alex Richardson and Ken Ferris)
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