Lifelong Everton fans Andy Bell and George Downing have emerged as favourites to take over the club after informing majority stakeholder Farhad Moshiri they can provide immediate funding.
However, despite their seemingly advanced talks and immediate funding offer, the Telegraph reports that Moshiri is mulling over the proposal from the multi-millionaires as other approaches are made.
A consortium of Middle East and United States investors led by London-based Armenian investor Vatche Manoukian has entered the fray with a £400 million all-equity proposal to tackle Everton’s significant debt burden.
The new bid joins a growing list of suitors that includes current lenders MSP Sports Capital and high-profile figures such as AS Roma owner Dan Friedkin and Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor.
Textor is in a race against time to sell his stake in Palace and table a bid to acquire Moshiri’s 94% stake in Everton.
Kenneth King of A Cap, an investment firm with prior connections to the collapsed 777 Partners deal, is also reportedly monitoring the situation.
Despite the influx of interest, Bell and Downing are reportedly in the most favourable position to purchase Everton and are already established creditors of the club.
The pair have committed around £50m to Everton and have quickly emerged as the fans’ favourites, given their connections to the club.
They have also told Moshiri they are the safest pair of hands for the club and have the required experience to maintain the development of the club’s new Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium without any interruptions.
Everton’s estimated value exceeds £400m, but any potential deal is complicated by the club’s debt paying for the new stadium.
Despite initial hopes of an announcement before the start of the new season, a swift resolution of the ownership saga remains uncertain, considering the directors’ and owners’ test approval wouldn’t take place until October.
Bell and Downing have the backing of Texan billionaire Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies.
Talks are expected to continue through the summer, but the pair are open to the possibility of other interested parties joining their bid, potentially creating a collaborative ownership structure.
