| Formerly | Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Football |
| Founded | 28 September 2022 in Delaware, US |
| Founder | John Textor |
| Headquarters | London, England |
Area served | Brazil, Belgium, England, France |
Key people | Michele Kang |
| Subsidiaries | Eagle Football Group |
| Website | finance |
Eagle Football Holdings Limited (originally Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited [1] ) is a global holding company based in London, UK, and Delaware, US, that owns football clubs in Belgium, Brazil, England and France. [2] Established in 2022, the company is chaired and run by an American businessman John Textor. [3] It runs Botafogo FR that competes in Brazilian Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Olympique Lyonnais that competes in French Ligue 1, Crystal Palace F.C. that competes in English Premier League, and RWDM Brussels that competes in Belgian Challenger Pro League. [4] [5]
In 2021, Textor tried expanding his business venture by trying to have major investments in English football clubs including Brentford FC, Watford FC and Newcastle United. [6] In August 2021, he succeeded with Crystal Palace F.C. with investment of £86million amounting to 40% ownership, [7] joining Steve Parish, Josh Harris, and David Blitzer as co-owner. [8] In January 2022, he signed a binding offer to purchase 90% ownership in Botafogo, a football club in Brazil. He then acquired 80% of RWDM Brussels in the same week. [9]
On 20 June 2022, Textor became the owner of Olympique Lyonnais by acquiring 40% of the OL Group shares, held by IDG Capital and Pathé, and the majority of shares previously held by Jean-Michel Aulas. [10] [11] Around that time, he established a holding company for his football clubs as Eagle Football Holdings that initially operated at Delaware, US. [12] The company was formally registered as Eagle Football Holdings Midco Limited in London on 28 September 2022, [1] [13] and eventually changed the named to Eagle Football Holdings Limited. [14] By December 2022, Textor had acquired a 77.49% stake in Olympique Lyonnais through his company. The reported total value of the deal was $940 million (€884 million). [15]
American digital media tycoon has been looking to buy an English club for over a year and held a concrete interest in Newcastle.