Cork Gully named administrator at Eagle Bidco, OL majority owner, John Textor out | OneFootball

Cork Gully has taken charge of Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited, the holding that owns about 85% of Olympique Lyonnais, in a move aimed at averting insolvency. John Textor has been sidelined.

The firm said in a statement that it had been appointed administrator under English insolvency law after financial commitments were breached. It now has operational control, directors' powers are suspended, and a moratorium shields the company from creditors.

Textor, until now president of the holding and repeatedly reappointing himself despite the counterweight of US investor ARES, its main lender, is out of Bidco’s governance. His operational power had already been removed last summer for OL after the DNCG’s administrative relegation to Ligue 2.

The immediate impact on OL should be limited. The process concerns only the intermediate holding, not operating subsidiaries, and no club, including Lyon, is in insolvency, with day-to-day operations and matches continuing as normal.

The club’s internal set-up is unchanged. Michele Kang remains OL president and Michael Gerlinger stays chief executive. OL acknowledged the change on Friday evening and postponed its quarterly accounts, due on 31 March.

Priority now is to stabilise the situation and find a lasting solution. Recovery remains the aim, though asset sales are not excluded if no viable alternative emerges. With ARES and Michele Kang the main creditors, they could recoup their money by taking the club, and what follows remains unclear.

Source: L'Équipe