John Textor’s $2bn Eagle Football Holdings IPO filing ‘imminent’
Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor is understood to be close to confirming a filing with the SEC for an IPO in his multi-club group, Eagle Football Holdings.
Textor has been gearing up for the IPO in Eagle Football as part of a $1.1bn debt and equity recapitalisation, and announced in November that he had raised an initial $40m.
As well as a 40 per cent share in Crystal Palace, the group has controlling stakes in French club Lyon, Brazilian champions Botafogo and Belgian outfit Molenbeek.
City PM reported this week that Eagle Football had been given a strike-off notice by Companies House in the UK for failing to file its accounts on time.
Sources close to the company said this was an oversight during the process of redomiciling Eagle Football in the US ahead of going public.
They added that it would be quickly remedying the situation and submitting fully audited accounts to Companies House.
It is understood that an SEC filing on Eagle Football’s IPO is now “imminent”, having been delayed by President Trump’s tariff war causing market uncertainty.
Announcing a $40m investment led by UCEA Capital Partners late last year, Textor said: “Eagle Football has reached an exciting inflection point, and this funding brings us one step closer to our IPO ambitions.
“We are thrilled to have the backing of such a respected investor as we execute scalable entertainment and technology strategies to complement our network of global football clubs.”
It is thought to be the first IPO of a football multi-club group. Such organisations are a growing force in the game and include City Football Group, Red Bull and Qatar Sports Investments.
The American’s clubs could be set for a successful end to the season, with Palace in the FA Cup final against Manchester City and Lyon in contention to qualify for the Europa League.
In February, Bloomberg reported that Eagle Football Holdings was working with investment bank UBS on the IPO, which could value the group at more than $2bn.