John Textor baffles Kieran Maguire as ‘strange’ Everton and Crystal Palace news emerges

Kieran Maguire has questioned John Textor’s “strange” decision to list Eagle Football Holdings on the stock market as the businessman looks to seal an Everton takeover.

As reported by Sky News (26 August), Textor is set to take his sports and technology holding company, Eagle Football – which owns 45 per cent of Crystal Palace – public at a value of £1.74billion.

Eagle Football will likely seek around £379million of new funding from investors as part of an initial public offering.

And Maguire, speaking via The Price of Football on Spotify (29 August), has been left baffled.

The football finance expert said, “I think Textor to a certain extent is starting to get a bit of heat.

“There have been articles in some of the media questioning the extent of his wealth. If you take a look at the clubs which he has bought historically, it is fair to say that their progress has been erratic.

“Trying now to list, or suggest that he is going to list his Eagle Holdings on the stock market as a means of quasi-funding all of this is a strange approach because if you become a listed company, then you are subject to greater scrutiny.”

John Textor set to complete Everton takeover at Goodison Park?

As reported by The Athletic (15 August), Textor is said to have entered exclusivity talks to purchase Farhad Mohsiri’s majority stake in Everton.

This has yet to be confirmed by the Toffees. However, supporters at Goodison Park will hope that there is some truth to the reports.

While Textor’s prospective takeover might not be as popular as Dan Friedkin’s attempts were, the businessman is certainly a far more viable option than 777 Partners.

Therefore, at this point, fans might have to accept what they can get so that the takeover saga at Goodison Park can finally come to an end.

If exclusivity talks are true, then this would be the third time within the last year that Moshiri has entered such talks. As a result, this deal needs to get across the line, otherwise the Toffees will find themselves in real trouble.

Everton John Textor
John Textor wants to buy Everton from Farhad Moshiri

He might have some baggage, as suggested by Maguire. However, Textor appears to be the only man willing to provide some relief at Goodison Park right now.

In other Everton news, a club insider has questioned a “troublesome” exit-linked player at Goodison Park.

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