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Lyon are chasing stock market goal
PARIS, France -- French champions Olympique Lyon want to raise up to 40 million euros ($46.70m) on the stock market by floating the company that runs the outfit, club president Jean-Michel Aulas said on Monday. Aulas said a major financial injection was needed for the club to challenge Europe's major teams, adding that the holding company would formally request a flotation on the Paris stock exchange before the end of October. "I hope to have a positive response by the end of the year," he told Le Monde newspaper in an interview. French football clubs cannot be publicly listed under a law passed in 1999 which allowed them to become a sporting limited company (SASP). Lyon is 100 percent owned by an SASP, 52 percent of which Aulas holds. "My objective is not to be quoted so OL can be sold but to be quoted so we can find extra funds," Aulas said. "The goal is to find financial or industrial shareholders who will subscribe to a capital increase. We would like to raise 30 to 40 million euros." Lyon won the title last year and are fifth this year after 10 games of the season. They are also playing in the lucrative European Champions League. Aulas said the flotation request was "a bit political" and he hinted that his approach was turned down he might consider pulling out of the club. "Those who might oppose it should take on the responsibility of saying clearly that they don't want an elite in French soccer. "My goal is make OL not just the best French club but one of the best clubs in Europe. If I didn't have the means to break through, it (running the club) would interest me less," he said. In addition to the proposed flotation, Lyon plan a capital increase of 10 million euros which Aulas hopes will bring about 20 new companies into the SASP.
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