Bill Foley, Vegas Golden Knights chairman/CEO, stands in the arena during an arena-naming news conference in Henderson Tuesday, March 30, 2021, The Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate of the Golden Knights, announced the under-construction arena in Henderson will be called the Dollar Loan Center.
Friday, Jan. 13, 2023 | 8:29 a.m.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley has completed a significant minority purchase of French Ligue 1 club FC Lorient, the franchise announced this morning. The agreement is in place for Foley to possibly gain more stake in the club following the season.
Loic Fery, who has been the president of FC Lorient for 14 years, will remain the majority shareholder and stay on as president.
“We are excited to announce a strategic partnership and investment in FC Lorient today,” Foley said in a statement provided by the Golden Knights. “Loïc Fery has successfully built a best-in-class football club and will be a great partner as we build BKFC into a leading multi-club football operator. I look forward to partnering with Loïc and his team to accelerate the success of FC Lorient and BKFC.”
The investment in FC Lorient comes a month after Foley completed the long-anticipated majority purchase of English Premier League club AFC Bournemouth.
Ligue 1 is the top French soccer league in the world. It's better known for holding one of the top clubs in the world, Paris Saint-Germain FC (PSG), led by 2022 World Cup winner Lionel Messi.
FC Lorient is sixth in the Ligue 1 table, two points out of fifth place.
The Daily Mail reported Wednesday that Foley was in France to secure a 33% stake in FC Lorient.
Foley might not be done investing in soccer teams. The report also notes that Foley is interested in purchasing teams in South America and Belgium.
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
