Reign FC, an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), has agreed to sell all assets to OL Groupe, the parent company of Olympique Lyonnais. The agreement to buy the club for $3.51 million is expected to close in January 2020 pending approval by the NWSL Board of Directors. Olympique Lyonnais was founded […]

Reign FC, an inaugural member of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), has agreed to sell all assets to OL Groupe, the parent company of Olympique Lyonnais. The agreement to buy the club for $3.51 million is expected to close in January 2020 pending approval by the NWSL Board of Directors.Olympique Lyonnais was founded in 1950 and has been chaired by Owner and President Jean-Michel Aulas since 1987. The club is a leader in France’s sport and entertainment sector with 49 titles and honors between both the women’s and men’s teams. Olympique Lyonnais Féminin has won 13 consecutive league championship titles, eight French Cup wins and six UEFA Champions’ League titles, including the last four in a row. “We are very excited to have OL Groupe join our ownership group as we further enhance the league’s global leadership in the women’s game,” said NWSL President Amanda Duffy. “The OL Groupe has shown tremendous success in our sport and their involvement with NWSL will help the league’s continued growth.” The club’s full assets will be housed in a newly formed U.S. registered company in which OL Groupe will have an 89.5% stake. Bill Predmore, Reign FC’s former investor-operator, will hold 7.5% of the share capital and Tony Parker, France’s greatest-ever basketball player, a four-time NBA champion and Chairman of LDLC ASVEL will hold a 3% stake. Aulas will serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors, where Parker will also have a seat. Predmore will become the club’s CEO and a COO will be named by OL Groupe at a later date. “Our ambition has always been to operate the best women’s football club in the world,” said Predmore. “This is a distinction long held by OL, making them the perfect organization to help us achieve our long-term objectives for the club. We believe the combination of OL’s experience and expertise with our knowledge of the market and league will allow future investments to deliver the optimal impact to the club and to the NWSL.” A press conference attended by Duffy, Aulas, Predmore and Parker, plus additional guests involved will be held on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. PT at the Key Bank Summit Club at Cheney Stadium. The conference will be broadcast live on OLTV (www.ol.fr via the OL Play service, on canalsat (channel 133), Reign FC’s Facebook page and on the ol.fr website. Media wishing to attend or for any questions can contact Kirsten Brierley at kbrierley@nwslsoccer.com or Christophe Marchadier at cmarchadier@ol.fr .