Everton's takeover talks with the Friedkin Group have been called off after the two parties failed to finalise an agreement.
The Friedkin Group, which also owns Serie A club Roma, had agreed a deal in principle to take over the Premier League outfit in June.
Chairman Dan Friedkin and his group were granted exclusivity in talks after a deal to sell to Miami-based firm 777 Partners broke down.
"The parties agree it is in both their interests for Everton to explore alternative options," said the Friedkin Group and Everton's current ownership group Blue Heaven Holdings in a joint statement on Friday.
BBC Sport understands the major stumbling block has been a situation involving previous prospective buyer 777 Partners, whose proposed takeover plan had been backed by funding from financial insurers A-Cap.
The 777 group loaned Everton £200m during their attempt to take over and the issue was not paying that off, but the legal action that 777 faces in the US.
Friedkin Group did not know how long this would last for, was unclear about who was in charge of the loan, and was wary of any potential risk, so it decided to walk away rather than wait for the issues to be resolved.
The Friedkin Group, which injected £200m into the club and paid off a £158m loan to MSP Sports Capital and two local businessmen, will "remain a lender to the club", the joint statement on Friday added.
It is understood the loan from the Friedkin Group is a 'stable' one which means the group is not looking to call it in immediately and club sources have said Everton as a business is "absolutely not in a precarious position".
