John Textor has revealed that he attempted a total buyout of Crystal Palace but the offer did not “induce a response” so he now intends to proceed with the sale of his 45% stake in the club in order to complete a takeover of Everton.
The American became the third party to be granted a period of exclusivity by Blue Heaven Holdings, the company that owns Everton, last week and has been on Merseyside this week for further talks with the owner, Farhad Moshiri. Under Premier League rules, Textor must sell his shares in Palace before being allowed to conclude a deal and the Guardian understands he is considering two offers, having invested about £150m in the south London club since 2021.
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But in a statement posted on his website on Thursday evening, the 58-year-old, who also owns the French club Lyon as part of his company, Eagle Football Holdings, claimed he had made a last-ditch effort to buy out the other three Palace co-owners – the chairman, Steve Parish, and Textor’s compatriots Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who all own 10% stakes in Palace. “It is true that we made an offer to buy the remaining shares of Crystal Palace, at a valuation that far exceeds levels of prior investment,” wrote Textor. “We did so with a strong belief that Palace has become a much more valuable club, since 2021, and we respected our partners enough to offer fair value, regardless of circumstances.
“It is also true that our offer did not induce a response, and we believe that our Palace partners have the same desire to remain in ownership as we once did … so our efforts to sell our interests resumed. We have a significant number of parties active in our process, we have received strong indications from qualified buyers, and we believe strongly that we can complete a sale of our interests to continue moving forward with the next community we hope to serve, embrace and enjoy.” Textor also confirmed he was keen to “pursue a relationship with the Everton club and community”.
Palace were valued at £624m by Forbes in May, although the situation is complicated by the fact that Textor’s stake entitles him to only one of four seats on the board, with Parish retaining the deciding vote.
It has been a busy week on and off the pitch at Selhurst Park, with Joachim Andersen completing his £30m move to Fulham and Jordan Ayew expected to join Leicester after Palace agreed an £8m fee for the Ghana forward. They have shown an interest in signing Raheem Sterling on loan from Chelsea, although his £350,000 a week salary would be a major stumbling block.