Lyon Soccer Deal Bolstered By Addition of Raine Ventures

An American investor will have help securing a takeover deal for a top French soccer club.

Former FuboTV executive John Textor has agreed to acquire Ligue 1’s Olympique Lyonnais with Gordon Rubenstein, the managing partner of Raine Ventures — The Raine Group’s VC arm. 

“I think we have an incredibly strong group behind the effort, which is focused on creating value for the community,” Rubenstein told Bloomberg.

• The acquisition will be through Textor’s investment vehicle, Eagle Football Holdings.
• EFH will pay $344.2 million for 39.2 million shares and 789,824 subordinated bonds.
• The deal is expected to be finalized on Dec. 19. and will value Lyon at $842 million.  

Earlier this week, Textor gave Lyon assurances that he will complete a deal for the club. He was given a Dec. 7 deadline to reach an agreement after a series of snags delayed the sale process.

Genstar Capital chairman Jean-Pierre Conte also joined Lyon’s pending new ownership group. Conte is part of a consortium of minority investors that plan to allocate roughly $105 million toward the acquisition.

Another New Owner

Lyon would join a growing list of European soccer clubs with American owners, most recently the Premier League’s AFC Bournemouth. 

On Tuesday, Vegas Golden Knights owner Billy Foley and a consortium of investors finalized their acquisition of Bournemouth in a deal worth $150.7 million.

Deals

| by Justin Byers

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