Two groups are in pole position to change the nature of Crystal Palace’s ownership structure.
Palace are run by four general partners with equal voting rights, regardless of their stakes in the club: Steve Parish, the chairman; American businessmen David Blitzer and Josh Harris; and another American, John Textor, whose 45 per cent stake is held via his Eagle Football multi-club vehicle.
Textor told The Athletic in May that he had hired investment banking group Raine to sell his stake in the club after unsuccessful attempts to buy out his fellow General Partners.
Now, seven months on, where does he stand — and what could it mean for Palace?
The Athletic spoke to multiple sources connected to the bids, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of negotiations, to find out.
Who is in the running to buy Textor’s stake in Palace?
Three groups have made offers.
Textor’s preferred offer has come from a group called Sportsbank, which is in the process of demonstrating proof of funds. That offer is not, however, believed to be one that buys out Eagle from its Palace ownership.
Instead, any deal via Sportsbank is likely to be an investment in Eagle, with a view to potentially helping Textor fund a full takeover of the club — something he has been desperate to achieve for some time.
But still in contention is a United States-Saudi consortium, whose original offer of $185million fell short of Textor’s valuation, but which has subsequently indicated a willingness to increase that offer.
Should that rise to an acceptable level, they have a strong chance to overtake Sportsbank and complete a deal that sees Textor depart after a turbulent three and a half years since his £87.5million initial investment saw him take a 40 per cent stake in Palace.
Stanley Tang, the founder of food delivery company DoorDash, is also in contention but is not a frontrunner.
There does, however, remain another possibility: Sportsbank investing in Eagle — which also controls French club Lyon, Botafogo in Brazil and Belgian outfit RWD Molenbeek — regardless of whether it still has any shareholding in Palace.
That would pave the way for another purchaser of Eagle’s shares in Palace.
Who is behind the Sportsbank bid?
This is being brought together by the former Everton director and experienced football financier Keith Harris, who has helped facilitate takeovers at West Ham United, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Their funding comes from sources in the United Arab Emirates and they are also thought to be backed by a U.S. entertainment and hospitality company.
The bid is widely reported to be fronted by Zechariah Janjua, who describes himself as a tech investor and entrepreneur, and Navshir Jaffer. Both are Crystal Palace supporters.
Who is behind the U.S.-Saudi bid?
This group is funded by two Saudi businessmen — Haider and Mansoor Syed — who were educated in the U.S. and have established a fund with the intention of purchasing a football club.
Jason Kidd, the Dallas Mavericks head coach who was inducted into the basketball hall of fame and twice won gold medals with the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, is one of five people involved in the group. Alongside him are former Morgan Stanley sports executive Bejan Esmaili and former Roc Nation attorney executive Wajid Mir.
The Syed brothers have met with the Palace hierarchy, including Textor and chairman Steve Parish, attending a match at Selhurst Park and touring the club’s academy.
Why does Textor prefer the Sportsbank bid?
Textor has always made it clear that he would like to stay at Palace and make a success of his multi-club project. He would rather take a controlling stake in the club by purchasing the shares of Harris and Blitzer, but has received no significant encouragement that they will sell to him. He has made several attempts to do so, none of which have been successful.
Sportsbank’s potential investment in Eagle, rather than directly buying him out, would provide the group with additional funding and mean that Textor could potentially wait for a better opportunity to take a controlling stake in Palace.
He is looking to float Eagle on the New York Stock Exchange via an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which would be more valuable if he had control of a Premier League club. That is also why Sportsbank’s offer is most appealing for him.
What is the likely time frame for any deal to be completed?
A decision is expected to be made before Christmas, but due diligence will have to be undertaken by whichever group is successful and there will be other legal responsibilities with lawyers pouring through the fine print of any agreements.
So while there may be signed agreements, they are likely to be subject to certain conditions being met and no concerns being raised by the successful group. Then they will have to undertake the process of gaining approval from the Premier League which, while not thought to be as stringent as if it were a full takeover, is still likely to take some time.
Will this affect Palace’s January spending plans?
Much like everything else, this is uncertain. Given that no deal is expected to be concluded before January, it seems unlikely that any potential investment will offer Palace more funds to spend in the transfer window, which head coach Oliver Glasner has already said is vital if the club wish to avoid a repeat of their early-season struggles in the second half of the Premier League campaign.
The Sportsbank bid, assuming it invests in Eagle, would seem to represent the best chance of significant funds being made available next month.
There might be a reluctance to put in any extra money if Eagle is exiting the club, but there ought to be some reserves available to allow Palace to do any deals they are pursuing, so long as they are not hefty financial outlays.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
