Everton’s prospective owners 777 Partners have only paid 35% of the funds for their purchase of Vasco da Gama claims a report in Brazil
Everton’s prospective owners 777 Partners only paid 35% of the funds for their purchase of Vasco da Gama when Thursday’s deadline passed and if the payment does not go through by tonight then the deal could be cancelled claims a report from Brazil.
On September 15, Everton announced that 777 Partners had signed an agreement with current majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri to acquire his full 94.1% controlling stake in the Blues subject to regulatory approval. The Miami-based private investment firm has already acquired a network of clubs across the globe: Genoa, Italy (acquired September 2021); Vasco da Gama, Brazil (February 2022); Standard Liege, Belgium (March 2022); Red Star, France (April 2022); Melbourne Victory, Australia (February 2023) and Hertha BSC, Germany (March 2023).
However, some 20 months after they took over at Rio de Janeiro-based Vasco, where some of the most angry protests against 777 have taken place, an article in Globo, Brazil’s biggest newspaper, states that only part of the payment instalment went through by the October 5 deadline with almost two thirds still yet to be received. The report states that Vasco received almost R$40million from 777 but is still awaiting the rest of the contribution today (Friday).
It says: “The board of directors at SAF (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol, a special type of public limited company in Brazil introduced by law in 2021 to improve governance and financial management of clubs – Vasco are one of nine), announced that 35% of the amount due after banking hours had been received, but they were still awaiting the remainder of the fees. The atmosphere at Vasco is apprehensive.
“777 Partners did not deposit the full amount of the second contribution to Vasco, this Thursday, as provided for in the SAF purchase agreement. Earlier this Thursday evening, however, R$38.5 million entered the club’s account.
“The Vasco partner is technically in default and the club can now activate a clause in the contract to regain control of football and retain 81% of the shares. The Americans’ promise, however, is that the remainder of the amount (around R$71.5 million) will enter the SAF account this Friday.
“The second contribution, outlined in the contract, would be R$120 million. However, there was an advance of R$16 million in the middle of the year to help with the transfer window.