English Premier League

Woody Johnson Buys 43% Stake in Crystal Palace F.C. in £190M Deal

Robert “Woody” Johnson, co-owner of the NFL’s New York Jets, has reached an agreement to purchase John Textor’s stake in Crystal Palace, a development that could enhance the south London club’s prospects of qualifying for next season’s Europa League. Woody Johnson has signed a “legally binding contract” to acquire the stake from Textor’s Eagle Football group, as stated in a Crystal Palace announcement on Monday. The deal’s completion awaits approval from the Premier League and Women’s Super League, but the club does not foresee any issues and is eager to welcome Woody Johnson as a partner and director.

“We would like to go on record to thank John Textor for his contribution over the past four years and wish him every success for the future,” the statement read.

Woody Johnson is expected to pay around £190 million ($256 million) for over 40% ownership of Crystal Palace. Forbes estimates his net worth at $3.4 billion. The American billionaire previously attempted to buy Chelsea in 2022 but lost out to a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.

Textor faced pressure to finalize the sale of his stake in Palace to prevent the club from being disqualified from European competition next season. UEFA rules stipulate that no individual or entity can exert “control or influence” over two clubs participating in the same competition. Textor holds a majority stake in French Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais, which has secured a spot in the Europa League, giving it priority over Palace due to its superior domestic league performance.

UEFA is expected to announce its decision regarding Palace’s Europa League participation this week, although the situation may extend beyond that. Should Palace be disqualified, Nottingham Forest would be promoted from the Conference League to the Europa League. Forest has already contacted UEFA to express concerns over Palace possibly breaching regulations on multi-club ownership.

Evangelos Marinakis, Forest’s billionaire owner, circumvented a similar issue with his Greek club Olympiakos by placing his shares in the Premier League club into a blind trust to comply with UEFA rules. Textor had the option to do the same with his Palace shares, but the deadline for such an arrangement lapsed on March 1. UEFA is reportedly preparing for potential legal challenges regarding its decisions from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Textor’s Eagle Football company, which also includes Belgian club RWD Molenbeek and Brazilian team Botafogo, is expected to reinvest the earnings from the stake sale into another English club. He tried to buy Everton earlier this year, but Farhad Moshiri decided to sell the team to Dan Friedkin instead.

Textor had previously voiced frustration that his investment in Palace did not grant him a larger influence over the club’s direction. Despite holding the largest shareholding, his 25% voting rights were equivalent to those of fellow co-owners Steve Parish, David Blitzer, and Josh Harris. Parish, who owns a 10% stake, has effectively managed the club on a day-to-day basis since 2010, when he led a consortium that rescued it from liquidation. Both Harris and Blitzer each hold an 18% stake in Palace.

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