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John Textor is attempting an audacious takeover of Crystal Palace but faces competition from the New York Jets owner Woody Johnson as the battle for control at Selhurst Park heats up before the club’s appearance in the FA Cup final next Saturday.
It is understood that Textor, who failed in his bid to buy Everton last year, has held talks with his fellow American shareholders David Blitzer and Josh Harris about buying their shares in Palace, which constitute about 36% of the club. That would take Textor’s stake to more than 80% and mean he would be able to complete a full takeover – a situation that could threaten the future of the long-serving chairman, Steve Parish.
Parish and Textor fell out in 2023 when the American, who also owns the French club Lyon, the Brazilian side Botafogo and RWD Molenbeek in Belgium, increased his stake in Palace to 45%. It is understood they remain distant, with Parish believed to have held preliminary talks with Johnson about potentially buying out Textor and the other shareholders. The 78-year-old Johnson, who was the United States ambassador to the UK, was seen with Parish at Palace’s game against Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Parish owns just over 10% of the club he helped to save from administration in 2010 but effectively retains overall control. He is the executive chairman of the managing company which is in charge of Palace, with the four partners – Parish, Textor, Blitzer and Harris – having equal voting rights on the board but Parish has the casting vote.
Textor previously signalled his intention to sell his stake in Palace after growing frustrated at his lack of influence in recruitment and other areas. In January he signed an exclusivity agreement with Sportsbank – agroup of investors fronted by two Palace supporters – for it to invest in his company Eagle Football Holdings with a view to potentially taking his place on the Palace board. But it is understood he would now prefer to push ahead with a takeover of the club where he is estimated to have invested about £150m since 2021.
Harris and Blitzer, who bought their stake in 2015 and have portfolios of investments across a number of sports, are believed to be willing to sell owing to concerns about the ballooning costs of building a new main stand at Selhurst Park, which some sources are predicting could reach up to £240m. Palace remain committed to the project, which would increase the capacity to more than 34,000, and planning permission was granted in 2022, although work has yet to begin.
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Despite Palace’s success under their manager, Oliver Glasner, including reaching their third FA Cup final, it has been a turbulent few months behind the scenes. The highly regarded sporting director Dougie Freedman left to join the Saudi Arabian club Al-Diriyah in March and is believed to have been frustrated with having a limited budget during the January transfer window. The chief financial officer Sean O’Loughlin departed this week and the long-serving chief operating officer Sharon Lacey has joined the US club Fort Lauderdale United.
