TheCrystal Palaceownership saga has taken another twist with the club’s largest shareholder, John Textor, listing his holding company Eagle Football for an initial public offering in the US.
Textor’s multi-club operation, which also owns majority shares in Lyon and Botafogo, has submitted a draft registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. An IPO is when a private company first sells shares to the public.
Eagle documents seen by the Guardian show that the company has made a confidential S-1 filing, with institutional investors invited to buy shares in it. Neither the volume nor prices of the shares to be listed has been made public.
Eagle has sustained heavy losses in recent years largely due to its big spending at Lyon, rather than Palace. Textor first announced plans for an Eagle IPO, which would be the first conducted by a multi-club football group, with a company valuation of $2bn (£1.47bn) last November, but the timing of the listing is curious given his involvement in sale talks at Palace, and the uncertainty over whether the club will beallowed to compete in the Europa Leaguenext season. Textor declined to comment or discuss his intentions.
Lyon have also qualified for the competition and Uefa rules prevent clubs with the same owners both taking part. As previously revealed by the Guardian, Uefa has rejected an offer by Textor to put his 44.9% stake in Palace into a blind trust as he missed the 1 March deadline, and the American has since stepped up his efforts to sell.
TheGuardian reportedon Thursday that the New York Jets owner, Woody Johnson, has offered £190m to buy Textor’s shares in a move that would be welcomed by the club chairman, Steve Parish, although that price is believed to be considerably short of his valuation. A consortium including NBA star Jimmy Butler and investment company Sportsbank has also made an offer.
Textor’s preference would be to sell to fellow shareholders Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who each own 18% of the club, but despite months of negotiations they have been unable to agree on a price. Textor has spent around £180m on Palace since buying an initial 40% stake for £87m four years ago, with his investment crucial to the redevelopment of the club’s training ground and funding numerous player purchases, and is reluctant to sell at a big loss.
Palace have expressed confidence they will be cleared by Uefa to take part in the Europa League on the grounds that Textor does not have a “decisive influence” at the club, and if they are thrown out are likely to appeal to the court of arbitration for sport. Uefa made renewed contact with Palace seeking clarification on elements of their submissions last week, which the club have interpreted as a positive sign.
In a potentially worrying development for Palace, Drogheda United were expelled from the Conference League last week due to multi-club issues. The Irish Premier League club are owner by the American investors Trivela Group, whose Danish club Silkeborg have also qualified for the competition and been given primacy by Uefa as they finished higher in their domestic league.
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Drogheda responded by saying they will take the matter to Cas, and the Palace case also appears destined to be decided by the court in Lausanne. To complicate matters further, Nottingham Forest would be promoted from the Conference League to the Europa League if Palace are banned by Uefa.
Forest have written to Uefa outlining their position and they, in turn, could take the matter to Cas if Palace are allowed to stay in the Europa League.