Announced for September 30, then for October 21, the sale of OL group, the holding company which holds the Ligue 1 club, to the American businessman John Textor, was again offset, this times on November 17.
by
Will the third time be the right one? A new deadline was set on Monday October 24 for the sale of Olympique Lyonnais (OL) to the American billionaire John Textor. The parties give themselves this time until November 17 to complete the operation. The transaction, in the amount of 800 million euros, was first announced for September 30, then postponed the first time to October 21. This setback creates a new uncertainty in a process often presented as safe by the various actors of the sale, including Jean-Michel Aulas, the president of OL, who chairs the club since 1987.
Through Eagle Football Holdings LLC, John Textor must acquire all of the shares and half of the Osranes (subordinate bonds refundable in new or existing shares, which will be used to finance the construction of the Groupama Stadium) held by Holnest – The Holder of the Aulas family (27.7 % of the capital) -, more all of the shares and the Osranes held by Pathé (19.3 %) – The group chaired by Jérôme Seydoux – and those held by the Fund of Chinese investment IDG Capital (19.8 %).
Disposed before the opening of the financial markets, OL Group being listed, a press release says that “Pathé, IDG Capital, Holnest, OL Groupe and Eagle Football agreed to fix the new date of completion of The operation on November 17, 2022 and the intermediate stages for the signing of the final documentation for debt and in equity “.
“To date, substantial progress has been made on all the stages necessary for the finalization of the operation,” says OL Group in the same text. “If one of these stages was not carried out”, it would open “the right to termination without prejudice to other rights for the benefit of Pathé, IDG, Holnest and OL Groupe”, also specifies the press release. In other words, current club capital holders are the opportunity to interrupt the sales process by November 17 if one of the stages leading to the final conclusion capped.
open letter
According to the press release published on Monday, “Eagle Football informed OL Groupe that advanced discussions were underway with investors identified in debt and equity ready to support the transaction”. But “this funding remains subject to the finalization by Eagle Football of detailed documentation, usual authorizations (in particular football authorities) and to internal verification procedures to the group’s lenders” OL, who “gave their consent”, which explains that “the operation could not be carried out on October 21”.
To counter skepticism that appeared in recent weeks concerning his financing capacities, John Textor tried, on the night of October 19 to 20, to reassure Lyon supporters in an open letter published on his website. “Know that transactions like this can be quite complicated for buyers and sellers, and it is not uncommon to discover obstacles on the path of a closing that create complexities and delays,” writes the American businessman.
In this letter, Mr. Textor, in whom Jean-Michel Aulas has always maintained his confidence, says he is “quite ready to finalize the acquisition”, saying that his main financial partner “is ready to finance Eagle Football “to buy majority participation and provide additional capital to OL Groupe.
After special effects in cinema to digital creation by artificial intelligence, then to the streaming of live sporting events, John Textor launched in August 2021 on the football field. He entered the capital of the London club of Crystal Palace (Premier League) before becoming, at the beginning of 2022, the majority shareholder of the Brazilian club of Botafogo and Molenbeek (Belgian second division). On the other hand, his recent partial buyout project of Sporting Lisbon failed.