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John Textor’s Company Wants to Take Lyon Public

  • Eagle Football Holdings is planning to take Olympique Lyonnais public via SPAC at a $1.2 billion valuation.
  • The company completed its purchase of Lyon in December.
Lyon
OL

Olympique Lyonnais could be going public.

Eagle Football Holdings, which is controlled by John Textor, is planning to take the Ligue 1 club public via a SPAC merger at a $1.2 billion valuation. The company completed its purchase of Lyon in December, valuing the club at around $842 million.

Ares Management provided lending for the acquisition, and Iconic Sports Management made a $75 million investment as part of the purchase. 

  • Iconic’s investment reportedly included an agreement for a potential merger between its blank-check company — Iconic Sports Acquisition Corp — and Eagle Football.
  • The transaction isn’t guaranteed, but the Financial Times reported the goal is to go public this year.

Iconic, which raised $345 million when it went public in October 2021, is made up of Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jamie Dinan, Pisa SC owner Alexander Knaster, former Goldman Sachs trader Edward Eisler, and Tifosy Capital.

Multi-Club Mania

Eagle Football Holdings also owns Belgian second-tier club RWD Molenbeek, Brazil’s Botafogo, and a stake in the Premier League’s Crystal Palace.

There are now more than 70 multi-club ownership groups — including City Football Group, Qatar Sports Investments, and RedBird Capital — but this would reportedly be the first such group to go public.

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