Soccer-American Textor hopes to get over 'awkward spot' to close Everton deal (updated)

Eagle Football SA

12/09/2024 14:23

(Adds Everton statement in paragraphs 8-10)
       Sept 12 (Reuters) - American businessman John Textor
says he is an "awkward spot" in the process of buying Everton
because his information about the club is limited as co-owner of
another Premier League side, Crystal Palace, but that he is
working through the issues.
    Textor, who is selling his shares in Crystal Palace to buy
Everton from majority owner Farhad Moshiri, told Sky Sports in
an interview that he was close to knowing who would buy his 45%
stake in the south London club.
    Textor added that he felt Everton's accounting problems,
which led to them being docked eight points last season for
breaching Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules
(PSR), were manageable.
    Asked about the challenges of completing a deal, he said:
"I'm in an awkward spot but we're working through it. The
awkward spot is that I can understand the club's position ...
the accounting position and I feel it’s manageable in terms of
the PSR problem."
    Textor's company Eagle Football Group also owns stakes in
other clubs including French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais and
Brazilian team Botafogo as well as Palace.    
    "There's a bit of a Chinese wall between me as an owner of
Crystal Palace and what I'm really allowed to know as a
prospective owner of another team in the same division," said
Textor, 58.
    "But I do think we're developing solutions for that
information gap and I feel we're in the very last days of
getting our comfort around that."
        Everton interim CEO Colin Chong said Textor's comments
represented a "personal view" on matters.
  
        "While positive conversations and progress continues to
be made with Mr Textor to formalise any deal with him, there
remains some work to be done to complete the transaction," Chong
said.
  
        "The club will provide updates in respect of new
investment when there is material news to communicate to
supporters and other stakeholders – and this will be done
through official club channels."
  
    Textor said he had received several bids to buy his stake in
Palace and "we're into the final week or two of knowing who the
buyer will be", although his efforts to buy Everton could still
be interrupted by competing bids.

 (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, Editing by Timothy
Heritage and Ken Ferris)
 ((chiranjit.ojha@thomsonreuters.com;))