Macfarlanes advised Ares Credit funds ("Ares") in connection with the takeover of Eagle Football Group S.A. ("Eagle Football"), the owner of Olympique Lyonnais through its ownership of OL SASU, by Michele Kang through Olympe Bidco SAS, and the concurrent restructuring of the OL Group's debt. Ares had been a lender to Eagle Football since 2022.
The transaction follows the English administration and competitive sale process of Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited ("Eagle Bidco") run by Cork Gully, its joint administrators. Under the transaction, Olympe Bidco SAS acquired Eagle Bidco's entire 87.78% stake in Eagle Football for $30m and committed up to €71m of new funding to the OL Group over the next two football seasons, with an initial €31m instalment made available at completion.
The transaction also results in the release of the OL Group's liabilities towards other affiliates of Eagle Football and the reprofiling of the RCF/TL and FCT facilities.
The Macfarlanes team was led by Restructuring Partner Jat Bains and Disputes Partner Lois Horne, with M&A Partner Felicity Powell. The Finance team also included Partner Pinar Celebi-Morrow, Senior Counsel Tim Bromley-White, Senior Associate Nils Gravenhorst, Associates Adam Ridley and Zawar Naqvi. The Disputes team included Senior Associates Rebecca Mansbridge and Stacey Kennedy. The M&A team included Associates Clemency Barrett, Sarvenaz Mirbaghery and Helen Connolly. Tax advice was provided by Partner Sophie Donnithorne-Tait with Senior Associate Krishan Patel and Associate Vitalii Trachuk. Competition advice was provided by Partner Malcolm Walton.
Jat Bains commented: "We are pleased to support on this outcome which will provide financial stability for the OL Group and, most importantly, deliver a sustainable solution for the future of Olympique Lyonnais."