Ex Disney chief wants a football club

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Published Mar 24, 2017

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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!!”

BLOOMBERG

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