EPL club Crystal Palace has agreed to a "deal in principle" with Devils and 76ers co-Owner Josh Harris to "sell a sizeable shareholding" in the team, according to Dominic Fifield of the GUARDIAN. Harris has "been seeking to invest in the English game for some time." Alongside fellow Devils and 76ers co-Owner David Blitzer, the pair first entered into talks with Crystal Palace co-Chair Steve Parish "a little over a year ago." Those negotiations "stalled in the spring but contact has been revived." Parish owns a 25% stake in Crystal Palace "along with three other" partners and "would continue to run the day-to-day operations." Although the equal stakes held by the four owners "would be diluted with Harris buying into the club, no one would have a bigger stake than Parish in shareholding terms with all parties signing up to a reinvestment programme aimed at stadium development" (GUARDIAN, 11/12). ESPN FC notes Harris has "flown to Selhurst Park a number of times" to watch the club. Sources said that Harris will get an 18% stake in Crystal Palace, with Parish and Blitzer "also maintaining the same stake." The sources added that the remaining 46% would be owned by a "combination of the three existing CPFC 2010 investors and new American investors." Harris and Blitzer targeted Crystal Palace because they "saw similarities" between Philadelphia and South London (ESPNFC.com, 11/12).
CASH INFLUX: In London, Neil Ashton notes Harris has "become a convert to life as a Crystal Palace supporter after tracking the club’s progress each week on NBC." Crystal Palace fans, who saw the club go into bankruptcy twice under former Chairs Mark Goldberg and Simon Jordan, will "soon have to adjust to life under a new investment structure." But "with significant investment in a club valued" at about US$152M, the club "will probably be in the most secure financial position of their 110 year history." The deal "could be announced before Christmas if negotiations continue to run smoothly." But there is still a "nervousness about absentee owners" in the EPL, with Fenway Sports-owned Liverpool, Stan Kroenke-owned Arsenal and Randy Lerner-owned Aston Villa serving as "examples of teams being run by remote control." Parish is "making sure it will be done a different way." Meanwhile, despite planning obstacles "in the way," Crystal Palace will "sell the idea of a massive upgrade at Selhurst Park to the local council with the prospect of new shops and, finally, the possibility of a decent hotel in the area" (London DAILY MAIL, 11/12).
