'From what I understand' - Simon Jordan makes John Textor claim amid Everton takeover interest
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor declared he is interested in buying Everton.
Football finance expert Stefan Borson has admitted that John Textor could find it difficult to quickly sell his Crystal Palace shareholding to complete an Everton takeover.
The American billionaire has declared that he is again keen to purchase the Toffees. Majority owner Farhad Moshiri’s 94.1% stake is back on the market after the Friedkin Group pulled the plug last month having been given exclusivity rights. Their interest came after 777 Partners’ protracted deal collapsed after failing to get Premier League ratification for more than seven months.
Textor currently owns 45% of Crystal Palace, although he has only 25% of voting rights along with fellow shareholders Josh Harris, David Blitzer and Steve Parish. Textor, whose Eagle Football Holdings also own Lyon, declared at the weekend he’s back in the fray to purchase Everton.
But Borson, speaking on talkSPORT, believes it might be tough to do so. He said: “One of the problems Textor has got is he’s got to sell his stake in Crystal Palace first. It’s a minority stake, it’s been very successful purchase for him from a financial perspective but he is only being offered, as far we know, his money back back the other shareholders there.
“Selling in the market a minority shareholding in Crystal Palace might not be that straightforward in terms of doing it quickly, especially when there are so many comparable assets available where you don’t need to take a minority. From a deliverability perspective, there are some challenges with Textor.
“But if he could get rid of it in due course, he looks like someone who would make a good buy.”
Former Palace owner Simon Jordan believes Textor will not be fronting all of the money up to purchase Everton from his own wealth and will be using investors who will want a return. Jordan said: “From what I understand about Textor, he is not using a lot of his own money. He is using others’ money which requires a return on. You’re now going to put Everton in a position with cash flow that can’t support debt, to some extent, to a potential purchaser - if Textor is indeed that purchaser - that will have some requirement to fund the purchase. That’s not ideal for Everton. He’s not a unicorn.”
Everton have lost almost £400 million in the past four years. Debt is owed to the Friedkin Group, 777/ A-Cap and Rights and Media Funding. Borson added: “The cash requirements are there for all to see. The debt level they have got and needs refinancing is there to see. It seems unlikely to me that someone comes along and doesn’t have a good understanding of the needs going forward and how they’re going to fund it. It would be quite extraordinary how they’re going to do that, but is what 777 done straightaway.”