New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has agreed to purchase 43% of Premier League Club Crystal Palace from American businessman John Textor.
On Monday, the club announced the $245 million agreement, which is pending approval from the Premier League. Johnson also needs to pass the Owners and Directors’ Test, known as the Fit and Proper Persons Test, for the transaction to get a green light.
“Whilst the completion is pending approval from the Premier League and Women’s Super League, we do not envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club,” Palace the club statement read.
“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.”
Johnson’s bid for Palace comes after he failed to buy London club Chelsea in 2022, following his service as the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. from 2017 to 2021. The 78-year-old attempted to buy the Blues after the U.K. government sanctioned the previous owner, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. BlueCo, led by American businessman Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, bought Chelsea for £4.25 billion (approximately $5.25 billion) in May 2022.
Approval of his latest bid would mean Palace would avoid breaching the multi-club ownership rule due to Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings owning a stake in Ligue 1 side Lyon. This would factor into allowing the Eagles to compete in the UEFA Europa League next season.
While Textor owns a sizable portion of the club, the day-to-day operations are mostly overseen by chairman Steve Parish and U.S. investors Josh Harris, the majority owner of the Washington Commanders NFL franchise, and David Blitzer, who holds a minority stake in the same team. Nonetheless, UEFA prevents teams with the same ownership from competing in the same leagues.
The only way for Textor to maintain ownership in both clubs and for them to participate in the Europa League is to place his shares in one of the clubs into a blind trust, which he missed the March 1 deadline for.
ESPN previously reported that Textor tried to offload his shares at Crystal Palace with Johnson as the frontrunner to acquire his stake.
Crystal Palace finished 12th in the Premier League with a 13-14-11 (W-D-L) record this past season and secured a Europa League slot after winning the FA Cup.
Johnson bought the Jets for $635 million in 2000. Bloomberg estimates his net worth at $9.18 billion.
