It could soon be a whole new ball game at Selhurst Park, as a consortium headed by a Texas basketball hero moves to buy out John Textor
Crystal Palace might yet become the latest Premier League club to undergo a takeover by oil-rich Middle East owners, as it is being reported today that John Textor has entered talks to sell his shares in the club to a group backed by Saudi businessmen brothers.
On his way out: US businessman John Textor may have found a buyer
Textor announced last year that he was seeking to dispose of his Eagle Football 45% share in Crystal Palace, as he sought to buy into Everton – a move which was ultimately unsuccessful.
Textor’s Eagle Football is the single largest share-holding in Palace. Were the new group to acquire all the shares, it would leave other board members, such as long-standing club chairman Steve Parish, as minority shareholders, without a final say in the major decisions affecting the Selhurst Park club.
Parish owns 10% of the shares in the club. Americans Josh Harris and David Blitzer both hold 10% of shares, while Robert Franco has a 5% share. It was the differences between those shareholders and Eagle Football that caused some friction on the board with Textor.
According to a report in The Athletic, a group backed by individuals from Saudi Arabia and the United States has signed an exclusivity agreement with Textor to buy out Eagle Football. Earlier reports had suggested that the deal for Eagle Football could be worth in the region of £230million.
Also in the bidding has been Sportsbank, a company registered in London just four months ago, and which was previously reported to be Textor’s preferred buyer. A leading figure behind Sportsbank is Keith Harris, a renowned mover-and-shaker in previous acquisitions of Premier League clubs.
The Saudi-backed group appears to have made a more attractive offer.
NBA coach: Jason Kidd has made a name for himself as more than just a Maverick
The figures involved in the Saudi-backed group includes Jason Kidd, the NBA title-winning former coach of the Dallas Mavericks basketball franchise and double Olympic gold medallist, plus former Morgan Stanley sports executive Bejan Esmaili and Wajid Mir, a lawyer who previously worked for Roc Nation.
The group has had an offer for Eagle’s shares accepted by Textor, The Athletic says.
According to the report, the group’s funding comes from Mansoor and Haider Syed, Saudi-born, US-educated brothers who lead a fund established for the purpose of buying a football club.
The Syeds have met Textor and Parish, been to a match at Selhurst Park and toured the Palace academy.
According to The Athletic: “Any deal is expected to come down to who is first to satisfy the relevant conditions and signs a binding agreement to complete, although Textor’s preference remains that Sportsbank invests in Eagle and that money is then used to pursue a controlling stake in Palace.”
The Saudi-US group has reportedly made an offer of $185million – not quite £150million – and should they meet the conditions of the exclusivity agreement, will then be subject to Premier League approval.
Both Sportsbank and the US-Saudi group are in the process of demonstrating proof of funds and undertaking the relevant due diligence.
Read more: Textor sets out his long goodbye from Palace and its fans
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