ARES ‘to seek’ €250 million repayment from John Textor’s Eagle Football | OneFootball

ARES, the investment fund that lent €425 million to John Textor to buy Olympique Lyonnais in 2022, is seeking to recover €250 million and to remove him from control.

Bloomberg reports that ARES has issued a payment demand to Eagle Football Holding, which owns Lyon, Botafogo and Molenbeek, and could trigger a two-week payment clause after recouping €175 million last summer from Textor’s Crystal Palace share sale.

The fund is said to have abandoned any amicable path and lost confidence in the former Lyon president, who last month tried to remove two independent directors ahead of the club’s AGM.

Textor was removed with immediate effect on 28 January as a director of Eagle Football Holding Bidco. Despite that, he is understood to have arranged a loan for Botafogo with Hutton Capital, a lender rejected by the DNCG during Lyon’s failed review in June.

ARES views these as contract breaches and has set major moves in motion. Once Textor is out, governance will be the key question.

The fund could force the sale of Lyon, Botafogo and Molenbeek to recover its money, or take direct control of Lyon, the only asset of significant value.

Michele Kang, who replaced Textor and injected fresh funds, told the AGM that Eagle Bidco finances were outside the scope. The sporting and financial upturn under her stewardship would not displease ARES, which already holds effective sway over Lyon’s future.

Source: L'Équipe