Rory Smith
Published at 12:01AM, December 23 2015
An American-led consortium is hoping to complete a takeover of Everton within the next six weeks, The Times can reveal. The group has signed a head of terms agreement for the deal, which could be worth about £200 million, and is performing due diligence on the club’s accounts.
Bill Kenwright, the chairman, has granted John J Moores, Charles Noell and their partners — believed to include investors from both sides of the Atlantic — a period of exclusivity to examine the finances at Goodison Park. That expires at the end of next month, when a decision will be made about whether to push ahead with a deal.
Should a sale go through, it would make Everton the second Barclays Premier League side in less than two months to receive an injection of US capital. Crystal Palace announced this week that they had agreed to sell a 36 per cent stake to Joshua Harris, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, and David Blitzer.
Moores and Noell had been linked with a similar deal to invest in Swansea City 12 months ago, holding discussions with Huw Jenkins, the chairman, and the club’s supporters’ trust over purchasing 33 per cent of the club. Those talks fell through in February amid doubts among fans’ representatives over accepting foreign investment.
The proposition on the table from Moores and Noell on Merseyside is more far-reaching. Although it is likely that Kenwright, owner of the club since 1999, would be offered some form of honorary position, it would mark an end to a search for extra investment that has lasted a decade.
Kenwright has never made any secret of his willingness to sell his stake if he felt that doing so would help Everton to compete with the Premier League’s big beasts. He has held talks with dozens of groups over the sale of some or all of the club in recent years, including three described as “viable options” since October.
None of those proposals, though, has made it as far as Moores and Noell’s. Both men made their money in technology, Moores as founder of BMC software, which eventually became one of the biggest firms in the field in the United States. In 1992 he founded JMI Equity, a venture capital house, and two years later spent $80 million to buy the San Diego Padres baseball franchise.
After winning four divisional titles and one National League title, he sold up, in 2012, for ten times his initial stake, taking $200 million (about £135 million) from the most recent Major League Baseball television deal. The 71-year-old’s worth was estimated at about $825 million in 2010, though it is thought his decision to sell the Padres was inspired by the cost of his divorce.
Noell helped to co-found JMI and has been president of Moores’s family investment company since 1991.
Published at 12:01AM, December 23 2015
An American-led consortium is hoping to complete a takeover of Everton within the next six weeks, The Times can reveal. The group has signed a head of terms agreement for the deal, which could be worth about £200 million, and is performing due diligence on the club’s accounts.
Bill Kenwright, the chairman, has granted John J Moores, Charles Noell and their partners — believed to include investors from both sides of the Atlantic — a period of exclusivity to examine the finances at Goodison Park. That expires at the end of next month, when a decision will be made about whether to push ahead with a deal.
Should a sale go through, it would make Everton the second Barclays Premier League side in less than two months to receive an injection of US capital. Crystal Palace announced this week that they had agreed to sell a 36 per cent stake to Joshua Harris, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, and David Blitzer.
Moores and Noell had been linked with a similar deal to invest in Swansea City 12 months ago, holding discussions with Huw Jenkins, the chairman, and the club’s supporters’ trust over purchasing 33 per cent of the club. Those talks fell through in February amid doubts among fans’ representatives over accepting foreign investment.
The proposition on the table from Moores and Noell on Merseyside is more far-reaching. Although it is likely that Kenwright, owner of the club since 1999, would be offered some form of honorary position, it would mark an end to a search for extra investment that has lasted a decade.
Kenwright has never made any secret of his willingness to sell his stake if he felt that doing so would help Everton to compete with the Premier League’s big beasts. He has held talks with dozens of groups over the sale of some or all of the club in recent years, including three described as “viable options” since October.
None of those proposals, though, has made it as far as Moores and Noell’s. Both men made their money in technology, Moores as founder of BMC software, which eventually became one of the biggest firms in the field in the United States. In 1992 he founded JMI Equity, a venture capital house, and two years later spent $80 million to buy the San Diego Padres baseball franchise.
After winning four divisional titles and one National League title, he sold up, in 2012, for ten times his initial stake, taking $200 million (about £135 million) from the most recent Major League Baseball television deal. The 71-year-old’s worth was estimated at about $825 million in 2010, though it is thought his decision to sell the Padres was inspired by the cost of his divorce.
Noell helped to co-found JMI and has been president of Moores’s family investment company since 1991.
