Everton owner The Friedkin Group open to full sale of club

The Friedkin Group (TFG) is open to a full sale of Everton as it seeks external investment in the Premier League club.

The Athletic reported in September that Everton’s American owner was looking for fresh investment into the club. The idea had been to find strategic investors who could help push the club forward through a minority sale, but sources with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, said a sale of TFG’s majority stake is now also being considered.

TFG is only open to selling full control of Everton if it is convinced the new owner is the right person or group to take the club to the next level.

The Houston-based group is completely happy to hold onto and support the club for as long as it takes for such an owner to appear.

Despite the openness to selling Everton less than two years into its ownership, TFG has a feeling of pride at stabilising the club and putting it in a position to be attractive to a buyer, which was not the case at the time of the takeover.

TFG bought Everton through its UK investment vehicle Roundhouse Capital in December 2024, purchasing Farhad Moshiri’s 94 per cent stake.

The takeover concluded a protracted process and years of uncertainty at the club, with significant financial difficulties experienced under former owner Moshiri, and talks breaking down with proposed investors 777, MSP Sports Capital and the KAM Group.

One of TFG’s first acts following its takeover was to put Everton back on a more stable footing, refinancing much of the club’s expensive debt and agreeing lower-interest loans secured against their new Hill Dickinson Stadium. They have already attracted investment into Roundhouse, with former Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd and American billionaire Christopher Sarofim both taking minority stakes last year.

The initial news of TFG seeking investment in Everton came after a difficult and much-criticised end to the summer transfer window for the club.

Everton sold £100million worth of talent in the summer, recording a profit of around £25m across the window.

Right-back Ainsley Maitland-Niles, a €5m signing from Lyon, was the only deadline-day addition after a £45m move for Monaco’s Folarin Balogun collapsed late on, with the U.S. men’s national team striker walking away from a deal.

Fans also protested the potential £40m deal to sell academy graduate Harrison Armstrong to Nottingham Forest. Everton ultimately pulled out of the move before the midfielder could travel for a medical.

In addition to Everton, TFG owns Italian side Roma and French club AS Cannes. It is in the process of launching an NHL franchise team based out of Houston, with the potential deal valued at around $3.5bn.