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Final Textor bid for Palace, but Everton probably real target

John Textor’s Eagle Football Group has made a final bid to take over Crystal Palace.  The group fronted by the U.S. businessman, which owns an existing 45 per cent stake in Palace, launched an offer which they say placed a valuation on the club “that far exceeds levels of prior investment” and would see them take full control.

It remains to be seen whether Palace’s other three General Partners — chairman Steve Parish and fellow U.S. businessmen Josh Harris and David Blitzer — are prepared to sell their stakes, but Textor fears they will knock back his offer.

If he is indeed unsuccessful then he is expected to renew efforts to sell his own stake in Palace — he has engaged investment banking firm Raine Group to actively seek a buyer for Eagle Football’s stake — and concentrate on acquiring fellow Premier League side Everton, with whom he has entered a period of exclusivity after talks with their majority owner Farhad Moshiri.

If he is to successfully complete a takeover of Everton instead, he must first sell his Palace shares. 

Parish has been in charge of Palace since buying the club out of administration in 2010 alongside three others as part of the CPFC2010 consortium. Since then he has overseen promotion to the Premier League in 2013 and an unprecedented run of success in which the club has enjoyed an unbroken decade in the top flight.  He has also become an influential figure within the Premier League, often acting as an unofficial spokesperson for clubs outside the ‘big six’.

This offer is the result of increased tensions within Palace’s ownership group, which has become split over the club’s strategy. Parish has prioritised infrastructure spending with his focus on the redevelopment of Selhurst Park and the building of the club’s new academy, while Textor would prefer to pursue further investment in the playing squad.

With Parish effectively the sole decision maker at the club, Textor has grown frustrated over his lack of control, and he previously hinted at being forced into a decision either to launch an offer to take over the club or sell his stake.

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