Kenyon-consortium will meet Moshiri’s £1 billion valuation for Everton

Days after the Peter Kenyon-led consortium visited Merseyside and toured various Everton facilities including the construction site of the new stadium, news is now breaking that the group has agreed to the £1 billion pricetag set for the club. Majority shareowner Farhad Moshiri is said to have valued the club at about £500 million and with the Bramley-Moore stadium cost locked in at about another £500 million making up the total sum.

The Telegraph, who have led the way with the reporting on the takeover bid, released an article earlier today saying that the group has decided they will meet the valuation Moshiri’s representatives have presented to them.

The report goes on to say that apart from covering the building costs for the new stadium Kenyon’s group are also committing to make significant transfer funds available to Kevin Thelwell and Frank Lampard. Under Moshiri, money for transfers has not been an object, but instead it’s Premier League Profit and Sustainability rules that the club have fallen afoul of. This news seems to indicate that the new owners are expecting to attract more sponsorships that will bring up the levels of the club income thus allowing them to spend more on player transfers keeping in lines with Financial Fair Play regulations.

The Kenyon-consortium still have exclusivity — the period is unclear — which gives them a headstart over at least three other groups who have also expressed interest in purchasing the club.

The article adds that a source told the Telegraph -

“An auction would obviously be to Everton’s advantage, but Kenyon’s consortium got exclusivity and it is still theirs to lose. The feeling is they are much further down the line than any other group at this stage.”

The group is led by Peter Kenyon, who is a former chief executive of Chelsea and Manchester United, and most recently led a similar consortium in a failed attempt to purchase Newcastle United. Per the article, others in the group include Maciek Kaminski — the chief executive of Minneapolis-based Talon Real Estate — and John Thornton — former co-president of Goldman Sachs and currently head of huge mining firm Barrick Gold. They are said to be using American law firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges investment specialist Michael Klein as advisors in their bid. Klein had previously been the consultant for Sir Martin Broughton’s takeover attempt at Stamford Bridge as well.

Kenyon remains involved in the world of football with his company Opto Advisers also involved in the purchases of Paris Saint-Germain and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and in similar attempts with Newcastle, Atletico Madrid and Middlesbrough. He was at Chelsea when Roman Abramovich took over and apparently the consortium would like for Frank Lampard to stay on should the offer be approved.