777 Partners issued major High Court order after Everton takeover failure

Former Everton prospective owners 777 Partners have been ordered to wind up by the High Court.

The Miami-based firm had agreed to purchase the Toffees from majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri in September 2023. But despite loaning the club £2000 million, they failed to get their deal ratified by the Premier League. As a result, Moshiri pulled the plug on the transaction at the start of June.

Headed by Josh Wander and Steven Pasko, 777 have had a fraud case filed against them in a New York court by Leadenhall Capital. The London-based firm say that 777 'pledged' more than $350 million in assets as collateral that ‘did not exist’ or owned by Wanders and Co. 777 have hit back by filing their own lawsuit and have alleged that Leadenhall hired a former 777 tech employee to gain access to proprietary information.

777 also owned 45 per cent in the British Basketball League but had its licence revoked by the British Basketball Federation in May due to financing concerns. Wander and Pasko have also lost control of Belgian club Standard Liege and Brazilian outfit Vasco de Gama, while Australian-owned airline Bonza entered voluntary administration in April 2023 for failed lease payments.

Now it has emerged per a document on Companies House that, under the Insolvency Act 1986, 777 Partners UK Ltd has been ordered to be liquidated. Wander and Pasco are both still listed as directors of the company.

Following the collapse of 777’s Everton takeover, The Friedkin Group have agreed a deal to purchase Moshiri’s 94.1 per cent shareholding. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval, although that is not expected to be an issue. Dan Friedkin, who heads the firm, is a multi-billionaire and already owns Italian outfit AS Roma. The takeover could be completed by the end of 2024.