Stake in Premier League team sought by Saudi brothers

Cosmin Iftode/Alamy

• Want 45% of Crystal Palace
• Initial $185m offer rejected
• New bid accepted, says report

A US-Saudi group has reportedly signed an exclusivity agreement to buy 45 percent of the English Premier League club Crystal Palace. 

A consortium funded by the Saudi brothers Mansoor and Haider Syed, which includes US sports and business executives, has agreed to buy the stake in the club owned by the American company Eagle Football, a report on the subscription-based sports journalism website The Athletic said. 

The group had an initial offer in November of £148.4 million ($185 million) rejected by the American businessman John Textor, who is the largest shareholder in Eagle, after it fell below his valuation. 

The offer has been increased and accepted, The Athletic said, and if the consortium meets the conditions of the exclusivity agreement, the deal will be subject to approval from the Premier League. 

While the stake is worth 45 percent of the club, Eagle Football only holds 25 percent of the voting rights. 

A rival proposal from a group led by the former Everton director Keith Harris has the potential to scupper the deal, according to The Athletic. 

Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Skema Business School in France, and an AGBI columnist, said news of Saudi private investment in a Premier League club should come as no surprise.

However, he said, it remains to be seen what the Syed brothers’ relationship is with their country and with the Saudi government, and what part they may play in the country’s burgeoning sports ecosystem. 

Mansoor and Haider Syed were born in Saudi Arabia and educated in the US.

“The development does, however, appear to confirm that there’s a growing appetite amongst Saudi nationals to engage in sports investments, although government officials in Riyadh are likely to be keen on ensuring that any funds generated domestically serve the national interest and generate a net positive return for the country,” Chadwick said.

“It will be interesting to observe whether new channels of Saudi investment into American-owned sports properties might be influenced by a possible Crystal Palace deal.”