Keith Wyness: This is how Everton’s owners will finance new club takeover
Everton owner Dan Friedkin will likely reach out to the financial markets to complete the takeover of US baseball side San Diego Padres.
This is according to Keith Wyness, who exclusively told Football Insider that Friedkin may look to go into debt to finance the purchase as he looks to expand his assets.
Reports in February have heavily linked the businessman to the National League outfit, in what could be a record sale for an MLB side.
Friedkin is currently the owner and chairman of Roma and Everton, and may now add a third sports club to his portfolio.
Keith Wyness: Dan Friedkin is shrewd at reorganising debt
Everton’s financial position has gradually improved since Friedkin came into the club.
Last year, the Toffees women’s side was sold to help ease PSR concerns.
Everton have also transferred £650m from their share premium, which is the extra money a company receives when it issues new shares at a price above their nominal value.
As a result, Wyness, speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, believes that Friedkin’s shrewd handling of finances will see him look to put himself in debt to complete the takeover of San Diego Padres.
He said: “What will be interesting is to see how the Friedkins reach out to financial markets and what method they use to actually finance bigger purchases like that.
Premier League team owners José Feliciano and Dan Friedkin are both exploring bids for the San Diego Padres, per @Sportico.
— Kurt Badenhausen (@kbadenhausen) February 4, 2026
An agreement could set a record sale price for an MLB franchise. The current high is $2.42 billion for Steve Cohen’s purchase of the New York Mets in 2020. pic.twitter.com/tWwYNHSFgb
“They’ve been very good at reorganising the debt at Everton and bringing down the cost of that debt. And I think they will reach out to financial markets for some degree of debt because these are big purchases, but of course, there’s a wall of money wanting to lend against major sports assets right now.
“So I don’t think they’ll have a problem placing it. But no, I don’t think it’ll be a case of we have tosacrifice one for the other. It’ll be a case of how they look at the group in total, and how they finance that whole group overall and how they finance the purchase price is going to be quite crucial.
“But of course, the Friedkins are a very bankable group and I don’t see any real problem in getting that. But it’ll be interesting to see what sort of structure they’re looking for.”
How much are San Diego Padres worth?
If Friedkin does look to complete a deal for the San Diego Padres, it could prove to be very expensive.
The MLB side is currently worth £1.7billion, with the record sale currently being Steve Cohen’s purchase of the New York Mets in 2020 for £1.8bn.
Therefore, Friedkin will have to pay a hefty price if he is to acquire the San Diego Padres.
Nevertheless, only time will tell if he is able to get the deal over the line for the National League side.
Read more about Dan Friedkin’s potential takeover of San Diego Padres, with our expert team at Goodison News.