Everton ready to grant exclusivity terms to Roma owner Dan Friedkin for takeover bid

Dan Friedkin holds the Europa Conference League trophy after Roma beat Feyenoord in the 2022 final - Fabio Rossi/Getty Images

Farhad Moshiri is ready to shake hands on exclusivity terms to sell Everton to Roma owner Dan Friedkin, Telegraph Sport understands.

After extensive talks with four other parties in contention, the American businessman, who is worth £4.8 billion, has emerged as Moshiri’s favoured choice.

Andy Bell and George Downing, who have lent the Toffees £158 million, were early frontrunners, but Friedkin is said to have presented an all-equity offer which turned Moshiri’s head.

Dealmakers have communicated to interested parties over the past 24 hours that Moshiri is ready to enter exclusivity terms with an undisclosed US-based consortium.

The club is not yet ready to formally make any announcement but the situation is expected to move quickly over the weekend. Fans had been keen on the offer tabled by Bell and Downing, given their local backgrounds, but the prospect of an all-equity deal, if confirmed over the coming days, will be warmly welcomed.

Moshiri had also been talking to an alternative proposal tabled by the A-Cap group of insurers, despite apparent pressure on the body from US authorities to cut its exposure to troubled 777.

Although Moshiri refused to rush into any decision, there are broad agreement terms that must be signed well before the start of the new season. The club faces major outgoings to keep its impressive Bramley Moore Dock stadium development on track.

Everton's Bramley Moore Dock stadium development requires major investment to stay on track - Peter Byrne/PA

Outgoings next week alone are estimated at up to £40 million, which accounts for player and staff wages and Bramley Moore Dock payments, including a significant chunk to Laing O’Rourke. Those specific numbers are denied by club sources who maintain there are no issues clearing any immediate payments.

Several interested parties had signalled willingness to pay operational costs immediately in their pursuit of exclusive terms with Moshiri.

A consortium of Saudi, Australian and US investors led by London-based Armenian Vatche Manoukian also tabled what was claimed to be a £400 million “all-equity” offer on Friday at midnight.

Manoukian said: “Everton fans deserve to be competing for trophies once again and we hope this deal delivers success for the club on and off the pitch. I want to thank our world-class investors for their support and we are excited to turn our focus to new opportunities to take great clubs to the next level.”

MSP Sports Capital had a separate proposal to take control via equity and debt.

Friedkin moved quickly into contention in recent days, however, and will be confident he can pass Premier League directors’ and owners’ tests. Uefa multi-club ownership rules would present complications if Everton qualified for Europe, however.

What ‘all-equity’ means

Equity represents the amount of money that would be returned to a company’s shareholders if all of the assets were liquidated and all of the company’s debt was paid off.

Effectively, the two all-equity offers on the table for Moshiri would involve no further borrowing. The debt already in the club – predominantly to pay for the new stadium – is a separate issue, however.

A proposed deal with the Friedkin Group, which could sign terms as soon as this weekend, comes after its founder acquired control of Serie A side Roma in 2020 for around £500 million. Since then, the club won the Europa Conference League in 2022 under Jose Mourinho.

Moshiri had previously agreed to sell the club to  777 Partners last September but the deal collapsed last month as the Miami company was plunged into legal turmoil.

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.