US investment firm MSP Capital is understood to have held preliminary discussions about taking a stake in Premier League club Everton with British-Iranian billionaire Farhad Moshiri, the club’s largest shareholder, with a 94-per-cent stake.
MSP was founded by former sports agent Jeffrey Moorad. It holds stakes in X-Games and McLaren racing. The US-Iranian entrepreneur Jahm Najafi, a shareholder in the Phoenix Suns basketball team, is also a partner in the firm.
Moshiri is looking to boost Everton’s finances ahead of the building of a new £500m stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront. The club’s combined losses over the last three years stand at £372m. The club currently lies 19th in the league and this week sacked its coach, Frank Lampard.
Moshiri this week denied reports that he plans to sell up completely, with an asking price for the club of £500m. The club’s website carried an interview in which he said he was talking to “top investors, real quality” to help “bridge the gap” on the stadium development funding and that a deal was “close”.
Moshiri has engaged investment banks MUFG and JP Morgan Chase to help identify potential investors.