777 Partners are facing questions about their fitness to purchase Everton Football Club, the biggest investment they have ever made in football. Now, a new lawsuit filed in Delaware accuses them of trying to conceal a “sprawling fraudulent enterprise.”
By Paul Brown and Philippe Auclair
There is apparently a running joke at 777 Partners that employees like to repeat which goes something like this: “What’s the best kind of money? OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY!”
The joke was shared with Josimar by a former employee of the company who spoke on condition of anonymity – and certainly seems illuminating when much of the private equity firm’s early wealth was based on its background investing in the structured settlements and annuities of its clients, as detailed in part one of this magazine’s investigation.
But changes to interest rates have long made that market far less lucrative, and the current source of funding for 777’s growing, and increasingly expensive, portfolio of investments around the world continues to be shrouded in mystery. Everton fans have called for transparency about where the money will come from for 777’s proposed takeover, announced just last month, given that even conservative estimates reckon the full amount needed to buy and continue to fully fund the club will be far in excess of anything the company has raised so far to invest in football, and could top 700 million pounds.
777 insists it has demonstrated proof of funds to the seller and its professional service advisors Deloitte and Pinsent Masons and that it is now focused on the regulatory approval processes to close the transaction, working with the Premier League, Football Assoc...
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