The Scoop
The chief financial officer of 777 Partners, the cash-strapped investment firm trying to salvage its high-profile deal for the Everton soccer club, has resigned, people familiar with the matter said.
Damien Alfalla joined 777 two years after it launched in 2015 and helped keep its cash-burning, dealmaking operation afloat. In recent months, 777 had been unable to produce audited financial reports, missing payroll, and borrowing heavily from its deal partners, Semafor has reported.
An internal memo, sent yesterday by 777’s managing partners, said Alfalla would be replaced by Brett Kaufman, who had been running his own CFO outsourcing and consulting firm, according to his LinkedIn profile.
It comes as 777, which amassed a global portfolio of sports teams, insurance operations, airlines, and other businesses, is trying to pull off its splashiest deal yet. In September, it agreed to buy Everton, the venerable Premier League club that has been losing money at a clip. It’s been waiting for league approval and, in the meantime, floating the team with tens of millions of dollars of loans.
777 has been trying to sell assets to keep Everton afloat and make good on existing commitments to portfolio companies, Semafor has reported.
Alfalla couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Liz’s view
The four months I’ve spent digging into 777 show an organization operating right at, and occasionally, beyond the limits of normal corporate finance. Requests for funds are ignored until portfolio companies are on the brink of insolvency. Creditors have seized assets, citing unpaid bills.
Fresh scrutiny from Bermudan authorities has reportedly cut off access to hundreds of millions of dollars sitting inside 777’s insurance operations on the island. In one instance, the firm failed to fund employees’ pension contributions — a serious error that suggests bad internal processes, a desperate need for cash, or both.
All of which is to say that Alfalla, working the till, has had a tough job. His replacement by an outsider could complicate 777’s ability to keep its money machine spinning.