Football has changed, and John Textor continues to have fun with his different clubs. He no longer plans to let go of Crystal Palace, but will still recover the money from his shares in the English club.
Put under pressure by the DNCG in France, John Textor will use all his art of communication to try to reverse the trend and leave OL free to continue their path in Ligue 1 next season, if possible without restriction. Among the American’s many promises, that of bringing new money into the coffers of the Rhone club via its holding company, and thus demonstrating its solvency while OL has numerous debts. The sale of 45% of its shares in Crystal Palace has been discussed for many years, but a major turnaround took place this Wednesday evening. The investment company Sportsbank has in fact revealed that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Eagle Football on this subject.
Textor prefers to leave between Sportsbank in Eagle
But this Thursday, in the American financial press, we decipher this somewhat convoluted situation. Indeed, John Textor had the simple choice of selling his shares for 240 million euros to the London group managed by two Crystal Palace fans. Instead, he is heading towards a sale of part of the shares of his holding company to Sportsbank, in order to keep the 45% of shares in Crystal Palace in his fold, and maintain the hope of eventually becoming the majority owner of the London club. Thus, Sportsbank will invest a similar amount in Eagle, which will be determined in the holding’s share at the time of the IPO, the listing on the New York Stock Exchange planned soon.
A double blow for Textor, which obviously loses shares in its holding company, but keeps Crystal Palace in its multi-ownership fold and recovers a significant sum of money in the process. A financial arrangement which should also allow money to flow into OL’s accounts, even if the timing will not be sufficient to convince the DNCG quickly, the IPO and the exclusive negotiations having not been finalized.
