As per a report from Sud-Ouest, Girondins de Bordeaux are set to avoid liquidation, with English investment firm Park Bench nearing a takeover of the French club. The deal between Park Bench and Gérard Lopez was announced at the Tribunal de Commerce.
The club’s future has been in the balance all summer. At the start of September, the club, who have tumbled down the divisions in recent seasons, were excluded from the national leagues. Restarting in the Regional 1 also looked unlikely, with the club in a fight simply to survive. Buyers have been sought and multiple deals have been close to completion but have not gotten over the line.
But Park Bench now look set to conclude a deal to buy Bordeaux from Lopez, who is set to sell the club for a symbolic €1, Sud-Ouest understands. This sale of the club would involve a renegotiation of its crippling debts. Those debts would have to be paid over 12 years, rather than 10. The value of the debt would also go from €26m to €13m. In the deal, Lopez would renounce his debts.
It will be a long way back for Bordeaux, but they may now have a future.
