In light of the news breaking this afternoon surrounding Everton and their potential new ownerships, we are posing the question, who are 777 Partners? Join us as we take a deep dive into their current sporting portfolio, and their future intentions for the blue half of Merseyside.
Who Are 777 Partners?
777 Partners are a US-based private investment company operating out of Miami, but with a far-reaching portfolio spanning across seven global sectors.
They are approaching their ninth year of business having been founded in 2015, and have amassed $12bn worth of assets in sports, aviation, sustainability and fintech among others. The company is believed to be worth around £8bn.
777 Partners first infiltrated the world of sport in 2018 when they purchased a minority stake in Sevilla, which has now been bumped up to a 7.5% share after further investment in 2020.
Following that, their football acquisitions have accelerated at an unprecedented rate over the past five years, becoming one of the largest proponents of the multi-club ownership model. They added Serie A club Genoa as their first majority purchase in 2021 after buying 99.9% of shares.
Vasco da Gama in Brazil, Standard Liege in Belgium, Melbourne Victory in Australia, Hertha Berlin in Germany and most recently professional basketball team London Lions followed to add to a rapidly expanding portfolio, which now boasts over 50 companies/teams in over 20 countries.
Are 777 Partners Successful Club Owners?
777 Partners have overseen majority takeovers in all but one of their subsidiaries, Sevilla, who despite winning a seventh Europa League title last season, registered their worst La Liga finish ever.
In the Brazilian Serie A, 777 Partners sought to jump on a huge investment opportunity amid a structural overhaul of the nation’s top-flight.
Teams are now able to source finance from private equity markets, which saw 777 Partners snatch at the chance to make it the largest purchase in Brazilian club history in February of last year.
However, fast-forward to now, and an ownership takeover that brought so much promise has been met with widespread fan protests. A perceived lack of investment, coupled with their worse start ever to a league campaign has seen fans turn on investors.
Elsewhere, fans of Standard Liege could be seen holding up a sign in their 1-1 draw against RWD Molenbeek at the beginning of the month, which read: “Your Galaxy shouldn’t damage our future!”
One of the largest clubs in Belgium have endured a tough start to life under their new investors, finishing in sixth-place last season and are winless in their first six games of the new campaign.
The DFL, the subsidiary in charge of Germany’s top two leagues, has also expressed concern in regards to the relationship between Hertha Berlin and their majority owners as of March this year.
They have voiced their intentions to explore how much influence 777 Partners have in relation to club decisions, which could be in direct conflict with Germany’s well-established 50+1 rule.
They purchased a 64.7% stake from previous investor Lars Windhorst, and although on paper the club still holds 51% of the voting shares on all club matters as is customary, there are investigations being undertaken by the DFL.
Lastly, staff at UK Sport, who are responsible of handing out funding to Olympic sports, expressed concern over 777 Partners after dealing with the firm during their takeover of the London Lions.
Have There Been Other Controversies Relating to 777 Partners?
Several ongoing legal cases in the US have cast a shadow over 777 Partners’ reputation, with themselves and sister company Sutton Park facing allegations of fraud, offering illegal loans and failure to pay outstanding bills.
Josh Wander, who is a managing partner, also pled no contest to cocaine trafficking whilst he was at college 20 years ago – it is unclear whether he would be actively involved in any potential takeover at Everton.
Wander was elected to the board of the European Clubs Association (ECA) Berlin last week, where he will sit alongside PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi, Ferran Soriano of Manchester City and Vinai Venkatesham of Arsenal.
Will 777 Partners Buy Everton?
By all accounts, a deal appears very close at the time of writing.
Reports in May suggested that the firm were prepared to offer current Everton owner Farhad Moshiri a sizeable cash injection, although they would later opt for MSP Sports’ £150million offer – a deal which never came to fruition.
It now appears Moshiri is prepared to sell the club outright, a decision that is likely to be met with a sense or relief among the fanbase who have grown increasingly disgruntled at a succession of disappointing Premier League campaigns.
This is in spite of spending hundreds of millions of pounds since taking over the Toffees in 2016. They rank 15th for the largest net spends over the past 10 years in world football with £336m.
Although the government has previously voiced its own concerns to the league about 777 Partners, there is little they can do until a third party body is implemented to oversee financial takeovers.
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