Everton takeover: 777 Partners have second club taken from their control after judge ruling

Vasco de Gama fans. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images)Vasco de Gama fans. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images)
Vasco de Gama fans. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Vasco de Game have been owned by 777 Partners since February 2022.

A club that is owned by prospective Everton owners 777 Partners have control taken off them by a judge.

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Vasco de Gama have been partly-owned by the Miami-based firm since February 2022. Yet the Brazilian outfit have had a preliminary decision accepted through a Rio de Janeiro court to have the Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) taken out of the hands of 777, according to multiple reports from the South American country.

GE Globo reports that the 'decision of the 4th Business Court suspends the effects of the SAF sale contract to 777'.

As a result, 777 co-founders Josh Wander and Steven Pasko, Andres Blazquez, Donald Dransfield and Nicolas Maya, have been removed from Vasco's board of directors, leaving Pedrinho and Paulo César Salomão in charge.

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Vasco had their request approved by using article 477 of the Civil Code which permits a party to 'suspend contractual performance if its counterparty has been financially affected as a result of a supervening fact, which affects, or sheds doubt on, the counterparty’s ability to perform'.

Judge Paulo Assed Estefan. said: “I give the requested injunction and suspend the effects of the investment agreement and the shareholders agreement, which grant the current control of VASCO DA GAMA SOCIEDADE AÔNIMA DO FUTEBOL to. As a result, the corporate rights (political and patrimonial) of 777 Carioca LLC are also suspended and control of the company is returned to CLUB DE REGATAS VASCO DA GAMA, removing the advisors appointed by 777 Carioca LLC from the SAF Board of Directors.”

777 have had a $600 million fraud case in New York filed against them by London-based Leadenhall Capital Partners. Meanwhile, their Australian-owned airline Bonza entered voluntary administration earlier this month.

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A potential takeover of Everton is looking seriously unlikely. 777 agreed to purchase Farhad Moshiri's 94.1% stake of the Toffees eight months ago but the Premier League have still to ratify the deal. Moshiri has given Wander and Pasko until the end of the month but is in talks with other parties.

Speaking to parliament earlier this week, Premier League CEO Richard Masters said: “Let me be clear about the Premier League’s role as regulator: it is to perform this test. It’s not to decide who the current owner wants to sell the club to. That’s his decision and at the moment he wants to continue to have discussions with 777 about it.

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“The Premier League is very clear the conditions that have to be met by 777 if it wishes to become owner of Everton. At the moment, because the takeover has not been confirmed, I’ll leave it to the committee [of MPs] to make its own conclusions as to where we are with that.”

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