Los Angeles - Former Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner is in
talks to acquire Portsmouth Football Club, a soccer team that plays in
England’s fourth division.
His firm, Tornante, has a window of 70 days in which to
negotiate without interference from other parties, the club said in a statement
Thursday. During that time, Eisner can review the club’s financial information
and put together an offer.
Acquiring Portsmouth would be a rare foray into a
lower-tier soccer league for a wealthy foreign investor. A mix of Arab sheikhs
and Russian oligarchs have long been members of an elite group of owners in the
Premier League, soccer’s richest domestic competition and home of Manchester
United and Chelsea Football Club.
Eisner, 75, served as Disney CEO for 21 years, during
which time the company acquired ABC and ESPN as well as a controlling stake in
the Anaheim Angels baseball team. Disney also created the Anaheim Mighty Ducks
hockey team.
Since leaving Disney, Eisner has run the Tornante
investment firm, which owns the digital video studio Vuguru and produces the
Netflix animated series “BoJack Horseman.”
Portsmouth has been owned by its fans after financial woes
led to the team entering bankruptcy protection. Eisner will have to convince
them that he’ll be a good custodian for a team that played in the elite Premier
League as recently as 2010.
Pompey, as the team is affectionately called by its
supporters, is currently third in England’s fourth-tier league, four
points inside the automatic promotion places, with eight games remaining this
season. Eisner will require cash and patience if the team is to return to its
former glories.
Eisner declined to comment beyond a message he posted on
Twitter: “Exciting times! Looking forward to coming over and meeting you all.
Good luck against Newport County on Saturday!!”