crystal Palace Shareholder Buys Lyon
John Textor, a US businessman and major shareholder of Premier League football club Crystal Palace, has completed a takeover of French football club Olympique Lyonnais, promising collaboration between the Eagles and his newest team.
Textor had been in negotiations with former Lyon owner Jean-Michel Aulas, who is staying on at the club, for four months before the deal was officially confirmed on Monday 19th December.
Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings now owns about 78% of OL Groupe’s shares, making it the clear majority shareholder. The deal valued OL Groupe’s equity and debt at roughly €800m (£657m), rising to €884m (£726m) after a separate capital increase.
Lyon currently sit eighth in French football’s top division, Ligue 1, and join Crystal Palace, Belgian side RWD Molenbeek, and Brazilian team Botafogo on Textor’s football portfolio.
The 57-year-old hopes that all the clubs will collaborate moving forward.
Textor paid £90m for his 40% stake in Crystal Palace last year, having previously failed with an attempt to purchase 25% of the Portuguese side Benfica.
Now, Textor has strengthened his foothold in European football further with the acquisition of one of France’s biggest clubs.
Textor commented, “Today represents a new beginning for Olympique Lyonnais. After four months of constructive negotiations marked by a common understanding with Jean-Michel Aulas and all our partners, we are proud to reach this exceptional agreement.
“It will be a milestone in the history of European and international soccer development, thanks to the combination within one structure, Eagle Football, of our interests in football clubs with a rich culture and decades of experience: Olympique Lyonnais, Crystal Palace, Botafogo and RWD Molenbeek.
“Eagle Football, in which Jean-Michel Aulas will be an independent director, intends to quickly implement collaboration across its clubs notably in France, Brazil and Belgium, reliant on training and development methodologies of Olympique Lyonnais, a reference in the field.
“One immediate example of such opportunities is the Pele Academy, the historical partner of OL in Brazil, which is already a close neighbour and regular trading partner of Botafogo. Of course, we will continue to be a supportive and meaningful partner at Crystal Palace as we hope our global footprint of talent development can be a collaborative asset to all of our Eagle-affiliated clubs and communities.”
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