FOR THE PAST 12 MONTHS, with each new bulletin of the club’s worsening plight, Everton’s supporters and, in particular, their directors have been wishing that they could find a Roman Abramovich figure to end their financial woes. Now, after a summer in which the club’s future has been the subject of bitter debate in the boardroom, it appears that Evertonian prayers are about to be answered with an initial £20 million investment by one of Abramovich ‘s business rivals.
At a meeting today, the Everton board seem certain to vote in favour of a share issue that would see a trust fund set up by Boris Zingarevich — the multimillionaire co-owner of Ilim Pulp, Russia’s largest pulp and paper manufacturer — buy a 40 per cent stake in the club, which is more than £30 million in debt. Zingarevich’s 24-year-old son, Anton, is likely to take a seat on the board as part of the agreement, which also requires the approval of the club’s shareholders.
The Zingarevich family are said to be enthralled by the prospect of emulating the success that Abramovich has enjoyed at Chelsea and, while the scale of the investment may not be the same as that at Stamford Bridge (their wealth is estimated at £362 million as opposed to Abramovich’s £7.5 billion), it is certain to be welcome at Everton, not least because it would put an end to the uncertainty and back-biting at boardroom level over the way the club is being run.
Bill Kenwright, the chairman, has spent the past three months at loggerheads with Paul Gregg, his fellow director and a partner in the True Blue Holdings consortium with which they bought a 70 per cent controlling stake in Everton in December 1999. During a bitter and very public power struggle, Kenwright has been accused of jeopardising the club’s future by refusing to consider proposals that would compromise or diminish his influence.
Kenwright announced ten days ago, on the eve of the new Barclays Premiership season, that he had secured a £20 million investment via a share issue, but the identity of the investor remained a secret as a due diligence report was carried out. Now, before today’s board meeting, at which the plan was expected to be approved, it has emerged that the man in question is Zingarevich, who was introduced to Kenwright by a football agent earlier in the summer.
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The initial proposal is for Zingarevich to buy a 40 per cent stake in the club, with Kenwright staying on as chairman for the immediate future, but in the longer term the Russians may pursue a majority stake and a greater influence on a day-to-day basis, particularly if the project appears to be successful. At any rate, it would appear to have signalled victory for Kenwright in his bitter feud with Gregg, who had hoped to take control of the club in a £15 million deal.
This being Everton, there remains the possibility of last-minute hitches, not least because of the fact that Zingarevich’s identity has been leaked before the deal has been finalised. Kenwright is understood to be furious about the leak, amid fears that it may prompt the secretive Russian to withdraw his offer. Last night, though, sources at the club were expressing renewed confidence that the deal will go through, whether today or later in the week.
The injection should help Everton’s chances of keeping hold of Wayne Rooney — both in terms of resisting any bids from Manchester United and of convincing the 18-year-old that he can fulfil his ambitions at Goodison Park, at least for the next 12 months — but David Moyes, the manager, will feel that the greater priority at this stage will be to invest in a squad that is one of the weakest in the Premiership.
Everton are already in talks to sign Djimi Traoré, the Liverpool defender, and Martin Rowlands, the Queens Park Rangers midfield player, but, should the Zingarevich investment be completed quickly enough, Moyes is likely to pursue a higher quality of player, with Andy van der Meyde, the Inter Milan and Holland winger, under consideration now that Everton are looking beyond the bargain basement that they have been forced to inhabit for much of the past decade.