Nice (AFP)
The plan to buy OGC Nice (L1) by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe took another step on Tuesday with the favorable opinion of the works council (EC) of the club.
The elected representatives of the 145 employees of the Riviera club had been summoned by Gauthier Ganaye, the president of Nice, in accordance with the legislation in force. Delegates issued a favorable opinion on the offer of the boss of the petrochemical company Ineos, after hearing the broad outline presented by Robert Ratcliffe, his brother, assisted by several collaborators, according to a source close to the club.
Robert Ratcliffe, who has been following this issue since November, visited all OGCN facilities in February. This process accelerated in the early summer with a formal letter of intent sent to current OGCN majority shareholders, Chinese-American Dog Lee, Alex Zheng and Paul Conway. The amount of the transaction would amount to at least 100 million euros.
A memorandum of understanding for assignment - the equivalent of a sales agreement - including all the suspensive clauses required by the buyer and the sellers has been signed.
An appointment is about to be made with the National Directorate of Control and Management (DNCG), the authority of the Professional Football League (LFP) which must now examine this file, before it passes in the hands of the Autorité de la concurrence.
Once these two steps are completed, the final transfer of ownership with passage under the British flag will occur within a few weeks.
? 2019 AFP