The American businessman could sell his shares in Crystal Palace to fund a takeover of Championship side Watford.
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor is reportedly ready to sell his stake in the Premier League club in order to fund a takeover of Championship outfit Watford in a head-turning piece of footballing business.
The 59-year-old is believed to be keen on selling his share in Crystal Palace having fallen out with chairman Steve Parish and co-owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer. The Mirror reports that the situation has been ongoing since February.
The American business already has a number of sporting ventures. He owns Lyon in France, Botafogo in Brazil and Molenbeek in Belgium. It is thought that Textor views Watford as the ideal next acquisition into that empire.
Textor has been linked with interest in buying Farhad Moshiri’s majority stake in Everton earlier this year but that deal fell through and has left the businessman looking elsewhere. The Crystal Palace co-owner had been granted a period of exclusivity with the Toffees in August but that deal did not happen, partly because of the complications that come with already owning shares in another Premier League club.
Crystal Palace co-owner in Watford talks
The Sun reports that Textor is keen to stay in British football and that he has held talks with Watford owner Gino Pozzo about using his shares in his investment Eagle Football to take over the Championship club. Watford sit fifth in the second tier after a strong start to the campaign under Tom Cleverley.
The Pozzo family also own Italian side Udinese and that experience with a multi-club set-up like Textor has is thought to make a potential acquisition of the Hornets more tempting for the Palace co-owner. Watford are reportedly valued between £150 million and £175 million by Pozzo with Textor wanting £230 million for his stake in Crystal Palace.
Watford’s Italian owner Gino PozzoWatford’s Italian owner Gino Pozzo
Watford’s Italian owner Gino Pozzo | POOL/AFP via Getty Images
In September, the businessman admitted he had received two ‘good bids’ for his Crystal Palace shares. One of those is understood to have come from investment group Sportsbank, led by Zechariah Janjua and Navshir Jaffer. It is also thought that current Eagles co-owners Harris and Blitzer could combine to buy out Textor and gain more control over the club.
In August, Textor told The Mirror: “I am still an owner in Palace – I would have to clear out of that before I could buy anything else. We have made clear our interest in having a majority interest in a UK club, whether it is Championship or Premier League.
“Yes, we are looking at Everton along with everybody else. I would have to rationalise my interest in Palace before I could close anything. “I am an Anglophile when it comes to football. When I see these legendary teams come along, some in the Premier League, some in the Championship, clubs that I grew up with, they have an appeal. They also have an appeal to our business model because if I follow these great teams, then so do athletes around the world.”
Textor is weighing up a move to takeover Watford.Textor is weighing up a move to takeover Watford.
Textor is weighing up a move to takeover Watford. | Getty Images
John Textor net worth
Born in Missouri, Textor made his wealth from his work in digital media and entertainment. He is the former executive chairman of streaming service FuboTV and has been hailed as ‘Hollywood’s Virtual Reality Guru’ by Forbes in 2016.
The businessman’s website states: “Once a programmer-turned-venture capitalist, Mr. Textor presided over great successes and great failures in the startup, turnaround, acquisition and growth of more than a dozen pure technology ventures, a number of which achieved global notoriety, unicorn valuations and successful exits.”
Bloomberg reported that Textor’s football stable was worth around £780 million when in the process of his initial investment in Lyon. LiverpoolWorld reported this year that it would therefore have increased to around £940 million after upping his stake in 2023. Meanwhile, netwealth.biz claims that Teztor’s net wealth is around £3.37 billion.
