January 13 – John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings has a double deal of exclusivity having announced it has entered into an agreement with new private equity group Sportsbank to acquire a position in the holding company whose ownership includes France’s Olympique Lyon and Brazilian and Copa Libertadores champions Botafogo.
Textor also announced last week that he had entered into a period of exclusivity with a US and Saudi consortium to sell his 45% stake in Premier League Crystal Palace for a reported $185 million.
Sportsbank had initially been favourites to buy the Crystal Palace stake though has switched its attention to buying a position in Eagle Holdings instead for a reported €240 million.
A statement from Sportsbank, said: “Sportsbank Limited, a sports investment company led by Crystal Palace supporter Zechariah Janjua, announces that it has entered into an agreement with Eagle Football Holdings Limited for an investment which will include a period of exclusivity while due diligence is conducted and relevant commercial and legal agreements are concluded.
“Sportsbank intends to make a significant financial and management investment in Eagles with the backing of major international financial and strategic management investors who strongly support Eagles’ multi-club model.
“Further announcements will be made once the intended investment by Sportsbank in Eagles has been completed.”
Sportsbank is advised by veteran investment banker Keith Harris who has been at the centre of many of England’s club deals and was most recently a board member of Everton.
At the end of October Textor announced plans to take his Eagle Football group public in the US with a $1.1 billion flotation in the first quarter of 2025.
The group has announced $40 million of initial equity investment towards a $100 million pre-IPO financing round, led by Portuguese investment fund UCEA Capital Partners.
“Eagle Football has reached an exciting inflection point, and this funding brings us one step closer to our IPO ambitions,” said Textor.
The addition of Sportsbank would likely accelerate Textor’s IPO ambitions.
The agreement could stumble over an issue with one of Sportsbank’s principals who allegedly changed his name due to a previous involvement with a group that was a front for human trafficking. The truth of this allegation has not been established beyond doubt. This could have created a problem when it comes to passing the Premier League’s owners and directors criteria, though on balance, buying into Eagle Holdings pre-IPO looks like a faster way of realising investment value.
The consortium buying Eagle Football’s 45% stake in Crystal Palace includes former basketball superstar and current head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd, who seems set to follow in the footsteps of LeBron James, who bought a 2% stake in Liverpool for $6.5 million in 2011.
Bringing financial wizardry are Morgan Stanley sports executive Bejan Esmaili and former Roc Nation attorney executive Wajid Mir.
The Saudi connection comes in the form of Mansoor and Haider Syed who were born in the Middle East, however, completed their education in the USA.
The group’s first offer for the Crystal Palace stake was rejected by Textor, the largest shareholder in Eagle Football, but a subsequent offer from the original bid of $185 million (£148.4 million) has greased the wheels of commerce.
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