Who is Peter Kenyon?
Kenyon is the head of his company, Opto Advisors, and has been advising clubs and their owners for a number of years. His company was involved in the takeovers of PSG and Wolves. Kenyon was also part of a consortium that wanted to buy Newcastle United.
Kenyon is known for serving as the chief executive of Manchester United from 1997 to 2003. He was instrumental in convincing Sir Alex Ferguson to remain at the club when the revered manager intended to retire in 2002. In 2003, the English businessman moved to Chelsea where he had an amicable relationship with Jose Mourinho and admired Frank Lampard.
Kenyon knows Lampard well and if a deal goes through, it is expected that the former Chelsea boss will have the backing of Kenyon and the group.
Who else is part of the consortium planning to buy Everton?
US businessman John Thornton is also part of the Kenyon group. He’s the executive chairman of Barrick Gold, which are one of the biggest and largest mining companies in the world with last year’s revenue soaring at £12 billion. He is also the non executive chairman of Pine Bridge investments. The owner of Talon Real Estate, Maciek Kaminski, is also part of the group. The consortium is being advised by Michael Klein and US law firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges.
If a consortium does buy Everton from Moshiri, they will be tasked with completing the construction of Bramley-Moore Dock, which has a projected cost of £500 million out of which Moshiri has already committed £100 million.
The new owners will have to go through the legalities and ensure that the club wont land in trouble for Financial Fair Play rules and Profit and Sustainability rules. Everton are walking on wafer thin ice in terms of FFP and P&S rules as they have reported losses of over £100 million for third straight year.
This has resulted in Everton being paralyzed in the transfer window, having little funds to strengthen and navigate. With the club insisting that no rules have been broken, the consortium may feel confident and a sale could eventually take place. As of now, Peter Kenyon remains a name on the lips of every Evertonian who anxiously waits for the fate of his club to be told.
Will Peter Kenyon succeed in buying Everton?