LDLC Arena sale to boost OL fiscal health

Article posted by Coliseum, June 17^th, 2024

Image: Populous

The American businessman John Textor and the French businessman Jean-Michel Aulas know each other well as they have done business dealings not so long back. After selling the French professional football club Olympique Lyonnais to John Textor in the year 2022, Jean-Michel Aulas has recently bought the LDLC Arena, located right next to the Groupama Stadium in Décines-Charpieu, France, and which is owned by Textor.

‘ENTREVUE.fr’ stated that it was a medium-term investment. The LDLC Arena was burning a hole in the pocket of Olympique Lyonnais. This multisport hall adjoining the Groupama Stadium has nothing to do with football and the boss of Olympique Lyonnais, John Textor, wants to consolidate all his time, energy and money towards football. Hence, the decision to sell the arena to Aulas.

The Olympique Lyonnais, commonly referred to as simply Lyon or OL, is a French professional football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (France). They were founded in the year 1950 and compete in France’s highest football division, Ligue 1.

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The Groupama Stadium is a 59,186-seat stadium in Décines-Charpieu, in the Metropolis of Lyon (France) and serves as the home field of the French football club Olympique Lyonnais.

The 16,000-capacity LDLC Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Décines-Charpieu in the Metropolis of Lyon, France. The arena opened in November 2023 and is mainly used for sporting events and concerts. It is located near the Groupama Stadium and training complex.

‘ENTREVUE.fr’ further stated that the LDLC Arena not only serves as the residence of ASVEL Basket but also holds major music acts.

The ASVEL Basket, currently known as the LDLC ASVEL for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional basketball team that is located in the City of Villeurbanne, which is a suburb of Lyon, France. It plays in the LNB Élite, the top-tier of men’s professional basketball league in France.

John Textor recently struck a deal with Holnest, the family holding company of Jean-Michel Aulas to sell the LDLC Arena.

Holnest is an investment firm based in Lyon, France. The firm invests in digital, entertainment, services, real estate, and infrastructures.

Stated Textor, “We have struck a deal with Jean-Michel Aulas’s Holnest to sell the LDLC Arena. Since we came to Lyon, we have made it clear that we will devote all our time and energy to football. Thanks to this investment and the passion of Jean-Michel and his new partners, we can now solely focus on our objective of playing European Cups in Lyon.”

The Olympique Lyonnais is going through financial hardships and Textor had to spend 140 million euros to maintain the LDLC Arena.

The LDLC Arena’s parent organization was John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings LLC and following the deal struck with Holdings, Textor will receive €160m (£136m/$174m) and the deal is set to be sealed by June 12^th. This amount will help to boost the financial health of Olympique Lyonnais and has come as manna from heaven for the club.

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