Gérard Lopez and Didier Quillot have submitted an offer to buy back the Girondins. – FRANCK FIFE / AFP
- Gérard Lopez and Pascal Rigo announced the merger of their buyout project on Thursday. They finalize the details.
- If all goes well, the Rothschild bank will have on the table two takeover offers for the Girondins, that of the duo Lopez-Rigo and that of Didier Quillot.
- The team between the former owner and president of Le Losc and the Bordeaux businessman is supported by many stakeholders in the file.
It’s now official! As announced by 20 minutes from wednesday,
Gerard Lopez and
Pascal Rigo, each carrying a plan to buy back the Girondins de Bordeaux, have reached an agreement to merge. “The discussions we started a few days ago have enabled us to observe strong convergences between our projects and the great complementarity of our operational teams. We have therefore decided to unite our efforts in the search for a quick and lasting solution for the future of the club, ”they wrote in a press release on Thursday.
But be careful despite all these fine words, everything was not yet complete this afternoon. There are still details to be finalized between the two teams and especially funds to be made available. The lawyers are working hard to get it all wrapped up quickly and send an offer to Rothschild. It doesn’t matter if the 2 p.m. deadline has been exceeded. But if all goes well in a few hours, the investment bank responsible for the sale of the Marine and White should have two firm offers on the table. That of the duo Lopez-Rigo and that of Didier Quillot. After that, these offers must still be satisfactory. For the moment, this is not the case according to a press release from the club published at the end of the day.
The former general manager of the Professional Football League, he did it earlier this week. It is supported by French and English investors. But it is the file of the former owner and president of Losc and of the Bordeaux businessman who is now favored by bookmakers. Indeed, the Lopez-Rigo duo is supported by several stakeholders. First of all by the Scapular club. This entity, which brings together 150 local entrepreneurs, is also part of the financial round table brought together by the tandem. To date, the Scapular club has managed to raise more than 5 million euros according to our information.
The Lopez-Rigo duo have a lot of supporters
This project is also considered the favorite because it is supported by the institutions. That is to say the town hall and the metropolis. The authorities seem convinced by this mixed team and the presence in particular of local personalities such as Stéphane Martin, the former president of the club. He could become the general manager of the club as specified South West. Finally, the duo have the support
Ultramarines, the largest group of Girondins de Bordeaux supporters for much the same reasons as the institutions. Another advantage of this project, Gérard Lopez knows Fortress perfectly and above all
King Street, the investment fund owner of the club since 2018. Preliminary discussions have already advanced between all parties.
Girondins de Bordeaux: Why the future of Matmut Atlantique is also at stake during the sale of the club https://t.co/3ny94SOIe9 via @ 20minutesBord pic.twitter.com/KebhaqrkVH
– 20minutesbordeaux (@ 20minutesbord) May 28, 2021
Still, it will now be up to King Street and the Rothschild investment bank to choose the best candidate for them. There will then be exclusive discussions to complete the buyout of the club with this question in the background: who will pay the severance payments of the old management? For example, some have been talking for several months about a clause of 2.5 million euros for Frédéric Longuépée, the current CEO of the Girondins. King Street would ask the future buyer to take charge of this sum …
A stronger case against the DNCG with the equity raised by Rigo
After the closing, it will finally be necessary to appear before the DNCG (National Management Control Department). And there for once, the Lopez-Rigo case will have to be very convincing, only a few months after the eventful departure of the first from Losc. Some would denigrate Lopez with insistence with the DNCG so that he cannot take back the club and that it is demoted, slips a source close to the file. A scenario that would benefit Toulouse, which missed accession to Ligue 1, but it is very unlikely at the moment T for the Girondins.
Beyond these two serious offers, an investor keeps a close eye on the situation of the Navy and White according to information from 20 minutes. This man at the head of a large personal fortune has not for the moment made any significant step towards Rothschild because he considers that the leaks are too numerous in the press and he does not want to be in the public square. But in case of refusal or failure of negotiations with the two current candidates, he says he is ready to go ahead and make an offer. He is currently trying to gain access to the Data Room.