LILLEY: Flair Airlines’ high-flying partners

Article content

Beyond the drama over taxes at Flair Airlines, there is the drama over their ownership.

Article content

While technically a minority shareholder, Flair has deep ties with a colourful hedge fund out of Miami that seems to attract controversy wherever they go.

Article content

Movies, airlines, European soccer clubs and even a British professional basketball team are among the interests of 777 Partners.

The firm has a 25% ownership stake in Flair but also leases the airline planes that 777 has purchased from Boeing. The hedge fund is also an investor in Australian low-cost carrier Bonza, which it also leases aircraft to.

The more high-profile aspects of the 777 portfolio, though, are what generate the real headlines.

The company has invested into content distribution focused on sports and entertainment including commercial distribution rights for the Argentinian and Brazilian soccer leagues. They also backed the purchase of STX Entertainment, the company behind movies such as Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez and The Irishman starring Robert DeNiro.

Article content

Article content

Last September, the firm came to an agreement with Farhad Moshiri to buy his 94.1% share in Everton F.C. – a storied club in the English Premier League. Months later, that deal for 777 Partners to take over the club is still up in the air with no end in sight as the league scrutinizes the deal and the firm behind it.

That’s a striking comparison to other deals such as Sir James Ratcliffe’s £1.25 billion investment in Manchester United, which was approved in less than two months.

Article content

Last week, on the heels of their Chief Financial Officer Damian Alfalla resigning, the Daily Mail reported that 777 Partners was cutting staff at their offices in London and Miami. Meanwhile, Forbes reported months ago that 777 Partners was scrounging to raise the capital to complete the deal for Everton F.C.

The company is no stranger to owning major teams in the world of soccer – or football if you prefer – but that ownership hasn’t come without controversy.

The company began buying stakes in football clubs in 2018 with a minority stake in Sevilla F.C. of the Spanish league. In 2021, they purchased the controlling interest in Genoa, Italy’s oldest team, before going on to buy Vasco da Gama in Brazil, Standard Liège in Belgium and Red Star in France.

Article content

Both Standard Liège and Vasco da Gama have been placed under transfer bans at various times since 777 Partners bought them due to a failure to pay clubs on time for the players involved in the transfers.

The firm was also late with a payment to the British Basketball League where they own the London Lions.

None of this bodes well for their attempts to take over Everton.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

There have also been questions raised about how the firm grew with the Washington Post writing about predatory lending practices to vulnerable people, which 777 Partners disputes.

The cocaine trafficking bust of firm founder Josh Wander almost 20 years ago has also been widely reported in the British press, even the New York Times noted it, a fact that is unlikely to help him secure the team.

All of these issues also raise questions about 777 Partners’ ownership of Flair and the health of what appears to be a struggling airliner.

Is their tax issue with Ottawa really due to a misunderstanding, or is it part of a pattern driven by the flamboyant minority owners who obviously exert a good deal of control at Flair?

All we can say for sure is the colourful headlines that go with 777 Partners and the companies it invests in won’t be stopping anytime soon.

[email protected]

Article content