Source: USA TODAY Sports/Mark J. Rebilas
[Saba Sports News] According to British media reports, a consortium backed by individuals from Saudi Arabia and the United States has signed an exclusive agreement to acquire Eagle Football and obtain 45% of Crystal Palace Football Club. Members of the group include Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, former Morgan Stanley sports director Bejan Esmaili, and former Roc Nation law firm head Wajid Mir, whose bid for the acquisition of shares in Crystal Palace has been accepted. It is reported that the funding for the group comes from brothers Mansour Said and Haider Said, who were born in Saudi Arabia but educated in the United States and lead a fund established to acquire football clubs. Their initial bid was lower than the valuation hoped for by John Textor, the largest shareholder of Crystal Palace and one of the club’s four main owners. However, the consortium later raised their offer, which was sufficient to reach a deal, but they still need to obtain approval from the Premier League if they meet the conditions of the exclusive agreement.