Prospective Everton owner John Textor has revealed an attempt to purchase Crystal Palace in a total buyout, which could hinder his bid to complete a takeover of the Merseyside club. The American was granted a period of exclusivity by Everton owners Blue Heaven Holdings and has held talks with Farhad Moshiri.
But it has emerged that Textor intended to buy Palace before his interest in Everton. He will now look to sell his 45 per cent stake in the London club before any deal with the Toffees can be completed.
The Guardian have reported that Textor is “considering two offers” for his stake in Palace, where he has invested around £150 million over the last three years. He confirmed in a statement that he had attempted to go all in on Palace.
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Textor wrote: “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. 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.”
A report from Sky News claimed Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings company is set to become a US-listed company in a move that could see its valuation climb to over $2bn. The company, which also has controlling stakes in French club Lyon, Brazilian team Botafogo, RW Molenbeek in Belgium and FC Florida, is targeting investment of around $500m.
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