American businessman John Texor was threatened with a lawsuit by three investors who supported his acquisition of Lyon after the French club was relegated from the first division due to financial problems.
Hedge Billionaire of Hedge Jamie Dinan and co-inlars Alexander Kaster and Edward Eisler wrote the textor on Wednesday (25) claiming that he is forced to repurchase $ 93 million (R $ 512.8 million) in shares of his company Eagle Football Holding, which has Lyon and two other football clubs (Botafogo and RWD Molenbeek), requiring him to do it within a week.
Textor confirmed the receipt of the notification, but rejected the suggestion that any money was due to the three investors, adding that they “are not entitled to the contractual benefits that now claim.”
The dispute puts more pressure on textor and its club network. On Monday (23), he announced that he would sell his participation in the English Premier League Crystal Palace, in part to help raise funds for Lyon, who was forced by the regulator to present plans to improve their finances.
In March, Lyon reported a net loss of € 117 million (R $ 755.8 million) in the first half of its fiscal year, and a pending debt, excluding the money due to transfers of players of € 445 million (R $ 2.8 billion).
Textor bought Lyon in 2022 for a market evaluation of almost € 900 million (R $ 5.8 billion), including debts. It was the biggest acquisition in the history of French football.
The original purchase was funded by more than US $ 400 million, mainly supplied by the American Investment Company Ares Management, and US $ 75 million (R $ 413.5 million) in the capital of Iconic Sports Management, the investment vehicle of the three investors led by Dinan, the founder of York Capital Management and co -owner of Milwaukee Bucks, from NBA.
The contribution of Dinan, Knaster, and Eisler was part of an agreement to merge the Eagle Football with an Iconic’s SPAC (English for a specific acquisition purpose company). Dinan and Knaster became members of the Eagle board and Iconic acquired a participation in the company.
But the merger of Spac was canceled in 2023, and in July of that year, Iconic supporters exercised an option in the contract that, according to them, required textor to repurchase their actions, according to people familiar with the details. When this didn’t happen, they hired Perella Weinberg mergers and acquisitions to find a buyer, but to no avail.
After Lyon’s relegation on Tuesday (24), Iconic’s three supporters sent a letter threatening a lawsuit if he did not repurchase the lawsuits until July 2, people added.
Dinan, Kaster and Eisler state that Textor owes them $ 93.6 million (R $ 516 million), consisting of the $ 75 million original plus interest. Iconic refused to comment.
Textor stated that “Iconic did not fulfill its obligations, including its complete failure to deliver a viable Spac, which was the basis for its first involvement. They simply are not entitled to the contractual benefits that now claim.”
Earlier this week, Textor agreed to sell his participation in Crystal Palace to Woody Johnson, the billionaire owner of the NFL New York Jets team. The sale will raise about US $ 200 million (R $ 1.1 billion), part of which it was intended to help reduce Lyon’s debts.
He is also looking to raise money listing Eagle Football in the United States. The group has Botafogo, Brazilian champion, who has been extremely successful in the field, but faced disciplinary action for unpaid transfer rates.
Lyon said it would appeal against this week’s “incomprehensible” decision to lower the club, and that Eagle shareholder contributions have relieved the pressures. “Through our appeal, we will establish our substantial financial resources as necessary for Olympique Lyonnais to maintain its position on Ligue 1,” said the club.
All French soccer clubs were hit by a sharp drop in TV revenue due to a poorly executed media rights auction.
Textor has sold other Lyon assets, including its covered arena and female team, and recently sold young striker Rayan Cherki to Manchester City for about € 40 million ($ 258.4 million).
