Meet the latest US investors linked with Sheffield United takeover

The Miami based company, which is said to view Paul Heckingbottom’s side as a potential acquisition following its return to the Premier League, already boasts stakes in a number of other clubs including Genoa, Standard Liege, Vasco de Gama and Sevilla.

Headed by Steven Pasko and Josh Wander, its co-founders and joint managing partners, 777 recently investigated the possibility of purchasing Everton with reports from across the Atlantic state that West Ham are another team which has appeared on its radar following the apparent collapse of talks with officials at Goodison Park.

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Given its wide portfolio of sporting interests, 777’s researchers will have noted that current United owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also boasts stakes in Beerschot, Chateauroux, Kerala United and Al-Hilal United. Together with United, they operate under the banner of United World; the Geneva based organisation Prince Abdullah established to oversee his investments.

As well as football, 777 have diversified into basketball, providing significant backing for the British league. That could explain why West Ham, together with United, have apparently piqued their interest with the London Stadium hosting events in another US sporting discipline - the MLB’s London baseball Series - and Sheffield being the home of the Sharks; a successful BBL franchise.

777 control a significant portion of the BBL and also run the London Lions; the capital’s only professional basketball team.

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As The Star revealed earlier this year, a number of North American consortiums and investors are keen to explore the possibility of buying United. Prince Abdullah had appeared close to striking a deal with Dozy Mmobuosi, an agri fintech entrepreneur from Nigeria, but discussions between the pair stalled. 777 also operate in this sector, with Mmobuosi insisting he remains committed to taking control after placing nearly £9m in an account controlled by UW. However, the period of exclusivity he was granted by Prince Abdullah has now expired.

777 initially dipped its toes into the football sector, with a minority stake in Sevilla, before completing total buyouts of Genoa and Standard Liege; a rival of United’s sister club Beerschot. They also control a majority stake in VdG but their interest in Red Star, a traditionally working class club from Paris, was met with opposition by its supporters who feared they would become a farm team for the group’s other assets. They also hold shares in Melbourne Victory, the local rivals of Manchester City-owned Melbourne City who face former United midfielder Nick Montgomery’s Central Coast Mariners in this weekend’s A-League Grand Final, and Hertha Berlin.

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Pasko, a graduate of Rutgers College, has operated in the financial sector for over 40 years and is experienced in “speciality” industries and investments according to his biography.

Wander attempted to put some flesh on the bones of 777’s motivations amid the protests at Red Star, telling journalists in France last year: “777 Partners is a company based in Miami, we are a holding - I insist - we are not an investment fund. We have main areas we work in: insurance, aviation, sport, media and entertainment. We support many companies around the planet but not to investment funds.

“I am in charge of the business and there are no other external investors.”

“What is important in our eyes is not to build a club which generates profit just for the sake of profit,” he added. “We want clubs that are capable of living and developing over a number of decades.”

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Neither Prince Abdullah nor 777 themselves have yet to confirm if United appear on the latter’s radar, although the Saudi Arabian has effectively acknowledged that financial issues, including being placed under a transfer embargo in January, nearly forced him to sell earlier this year. Reading between the lines of an interview he conducted with United’s in-house media department earlier this month, which was published on their website and social media platforms last week, Prince Abdullah suggested that Mmobuosi could now be sitting in the boardroom had the EFL granted approval and certain monies not been paid late, according to his own timescale at least.

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With United yet to receive their PL share, the EFL will continue to scrutinise any ‘persons of interest’ linked to a change at the helm there. The PL will take control of the process when that transfer officially takes place although sources have confirmed that, if negotiations straddle that period, the two governing bodies will pool information in order to speed up the process. Mmobuosi paid nearly £9m into an account controlled by UW when his bid was gathering momentum.

Two months ago, it was claimed by one of the world’s leading financial newswires that 777 had met PCP Capital Partners, which part owns Newcastle, for exploratory talks about raising debt and equity to help the Amanda Staveley run organisation build its own multi-club model. Newcastle’s bigger backer - PCP control around 10 percent of its shares - is the public investment fund of Prince Abdullah’s homeland Saudi Arabia.

Heckingbottom handed a list of targets to Prince Abdullah and his associates during a recent meeting in Switzerland, as he attempts to construct a squad capable of surviving at the highest level. Budgetary constraints have already ruled-out any recruits commanding fees in excess of £20m, which prompted Heckingbottom to admit they “can not afford to waste a penny” over the coming months.