New York Jets Billionaire Co-Owner Buys Stake In Crystal Palace

Forbes

3 hours ago

Woody Johnson watches the New York Jets prepare to play the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile ... More High on September 26, 2021 in Denver, Colorado.
Robert "Woody" Johnson, the co-owner of the NFL's New York Jets, has agreed to buy John Textor's stake in Crystal Palace in a deal that will likely boost the chances of the south London club playing in next season's Europa League.
Johnson has signed a "legally binding contract" to purchase the stake from John Textor's Eagle Football group, according to a statement from Crystal Palace on Monday. Completion of the deal is pending approval from the Premier League and Women's Super League, the club said, but it does not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody 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 said.
Johnson will reportedly pay about £190 million ($256 million) to acquire more than 40% ownership of Crystal Palace. Forbes estimates that he has a net worth of $3.4 billion.
The American billionaire had tried to buy Chelsea in 2022, but lost out to the consortium led by billionaire Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
Textor had been under pressure to wrap up a quick sale of his stake in Palace to avoid the club being disqualified from playing in Europe next season. UEFA's rules state that no individual or entity can have 'control or influence' over two clubs competing in the same competition.
Textor owns a majority stake in French Ligue 1 club Olympique Lyonnais, which has also qualified for the Europa League and would take precedence over Palace due to their higher domestic league finish.
UEFA is expected to reach its decision on Palace's participation in the Europa League this week, but the matter may drag on even longer. For if Palace are disqualified from the competition, Nottingham Forest would be moved from the Conference League to the Europa League. And Forest have already written to UEFA to raise their concerns about Palace breaching the governing body's rules on multi-club ownership.
Forest's billionaire owner Evangelos Marinakis avoided the same problem with his Greek side Olympiakos by placing his shares in the Premier League club into a blind trust to comply with UEFA rules. Textor could have made the same arrangement with his Palace shares, but the deadline for doing so passed on March 1. UEFA is already said to be preparing for a possible legal challenge to its decision at the court of arbitration for sport (CAS).
Textor is expected to use the proceeds of stake sale to invest in another English club through his Eagle Football group, which also includes Brazil's Botafogo and Belgium's RWD Molenbeek. He had tried to buy Everton earlier this year, but Farhad Moshiri opted instead to sell the club to Dan Friedkin.
Textor had previously expressed frustration that his investment in Palace did not entitle him to having a greater say in the club's direction. Despite holding the largest shareholding in Palace, his 25% voting rights were equal to fellow co-owners Steve Parish, David Blitzer and Josh Harris. Parish holds a 10% stake in club, and has effectively had day-to-day control of the club since 2010, when he led a consortium that saved it from liquidation. And the American investors Harris and Blitzer each own an 18% stake in Palace.