Josh Wander, CEO of the 777 Partners Group, speaks at a press conference on the entry as new investor for Bundesliga soccer club Hertha BSC in Berlim earlier this year. Photo / Andreas Gora, dpa via AP
Josh Wander, CEO of the 777 Partners Group, speaks at a press conference on the entry as new investor for Bundesliga soccer club Hertha BSC in Berlim earlier this year. Photo / Andreas Gora, dpa via AP
Football clubs are entering a new era of “hyper commercialisation”, according to the co-founder of 777 Partners, the private Miami investment group that has emerged as one of the most acquisitive operators in the global game.
The firm, which was unknown in the sports world five years ago, has snappedup hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stakes in clubs stretching from Italy to Brazil and is now eyeing an investment in Everton, its first Premier League target, according to several people familiar with the matter.
Most of the clubs have been financial underperformers, raising questions about the returns on the firm’s investment, but Josh Wander, who set up 777 in 2015 with co-founder Steven Pasko, said in an interview that critics misunderstood the logic behind its bets.
“We have a strong view that there’s a new wave of commercialisation coming to football,” he said, adding that 777 had paid attractive prices to invest in clubs that had “done a horrible job of commercialising the product”.
Wander declined to comment on 777′s interest in Everton, but noted that the Premier League had done “a very good job relative to the other leagues of commercialising their product”.
He said 777′s goal was “to be profitable by next season” across its portfolio of clubs, which include Genoa in Italy, Vasco da Gama in Brazil, Hertha Berlin in Germany and Standard de Liège in Belgium.
Isaak Davies of Kortrijk celebrating with teammates after scoring a goal against Standard de Liege during the Jupiler Pro League season 2023. Photo / Isosport, MB Media, Getty Images
Everton, controlled by Anglo-Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri through an Isle of Man entity, is another club in a weak financial position after several years of losses, a brush with relegation last season and the rising costs of a new stadium project.
The indebted club recently ended months of exclusive negotiations with MSP Sports Capital, people familiar with the matter said.
Wander and 777 are part of a trend towards multi-club ownership that is reshaping football and raising concerns at Uefa, its European governing body. But they have been dogged by questions since taking their first 15 per cent stake in Sevilla in 2018.
“It’s so absurd to me that people say we’re not serious when we bought [stakes in] seven clubs in the last 18 months,” Wander said. “Is there anyone in the world that’s been more serious about buying football clubs in history than Josh Wander?”
777 had $9 billion to $10b (NZ$15.1b to NZ$16.7b) of assets under management including a “close to $4b insurance balance sheet”, he said. All of its funds had been generated by its own operations apart from $250m it raised in preferred equity, he added.
It is now looking to raise “a few hundred million” of equity and debt for its football holding company, in a process led by Tifosy Capital. Wander said it had held discussions with Saudi Arabia’s $650b Public Investment Fund, but “nothing came of it”.
Wander and Pasko built 777 from early investments in “esoteric” financial assets such as lottery winnings and structured settlements, in which defendants in lawsuits agree to pay damages over several years rather than as a lump sum.
The firm is eyeing up investment in Everton, its first Premier League foray. Photo / Alex Livesey, Getty Images
The firm’s holdings now span seven industries, including aviation, litigation finance and private credit, which Wander said shared a common theme of predictable long-term cash flows. In sports, he said, 777′s strategy includes moving players between its clubs, buying adjacent businesses such as ticketing and merchandise, and cross-selling products from its other companies.
“The vision for this football group is that one day we’re not selling hot dogs and beers to our customers; [it’s] that we’re selling insurance or financial services or whatever,” he said. The intensity of fans’ engagement with their clubs meant “they want to be monetised”, he added.
Wander said 777′s arrival on the high-profile stage of football dealmaking had brought with it “salacious” media coverage, including of a 2003 cocaine trafficking arrest that led to him being put on probation.
“It was a stupid college thing. So all of the success that I’ve had has been in spite of the fact that every time I’ve tried to do something, somebody brings that up and throws it in my face,” he said.
“And when I got involved in investing in sports, it became a perfect opportunity for those people that are haters to try to destroy you with things that are somewhat meaningless.”
