Billionaire buying highly indebted and underperforming clubs in EPL & Serie A
Buying dogs with fleas on them is a high-return, high-risk investment. There's something about indebted, lossmaking football clubs that attracts the attention of Houston-based billionaire Dan Friedkin? Trying to turn around financially wobbly footb…
Buying dogs with fleas on them is a high-return, high-risk investment.
There's something about indebted, lossmaking football clubs that attracts the attention of Houston-based billionaire Dan Friedkin? Trying to turn around financially wobbly football clubs turns him on? He owns A S Roma a Serie A club and is preparing to bid for Everton, an EPL club. Both are clubs with illustrious histories but have underperformed in the last few decades. Everton most recent major trophy was the 1995 FA Cup. It last won the English championship in 1986-1987. Previous to that it won it in 85-86. Roma last won Serie A in 2000–01
Friedkin's €591mn acquisition of Roma in 2020 is an ongoing turnaround project. Since acquiring Roma , he has cut external debt, extended shareholder loans and increased revenue. Cost control is also a priority.
His appetite for risk (He also flies spitfires) will come in useful if he buys Everton. Everton's debts are almost triple Roma's.
Everton's indebtedness has risen in recent years, the result of investment in a new stadium while competing (badly) against the some of the wealthiest clubs in the world.
The coronavirus pandemic and Putin's invasion of Ukraine didn't help. The latter forced the British-Iranian owner Moshiri to cut sponsorship deals with companies linked to his former business partner, Uzbek-Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
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Friedkin has experience thanks to his ownership of Roma. Since acquiring the Serie A club, he has cut external debt, extended shareholder loans and increased revenue. Cost control is also a priority.
"Further growth on the commercial side and qualification for the Uefa Champions League will be key to ensuring Roma's continued growth," says Andrea Sartori, founder of data provider Football Benchmark.
Everton has suffered "stagnation in operating revenues", "worsening profitability" and "a constant worsening" of the balance sheet Sartori says Everton's plans to complete the construction of a new stadium will be "key for the club's future growth", with just one season left at its current home ground, Goodison Park.
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