London Lions to be acquired by Tesonet, managed by BC Zalgiris
London Lions have agreed terms to be acquired by Lithuanian tech incubator Tesonet, who are also 25% shareholders of Euroleague powerhouse BC Zalgiris Kaunas, Zalgiris announced today.
A statement released by Zalgiris says the Lions will then essentially be transferred over to Zalgiris, who will manage the club that they believe “will not only achieve greater sports milestones but also become a model of sustainability and operational excellence in the basketball community.”
A well-know tech hub Tesonet acquires @LondonLions Basketball Club, while Zalgiris will share invaluable experience, and will set London club on a path to achieve greater success in the basketball world. pic.twitter.com/0DpGKPhYqO
— BC Zalgiris Kaunas (@bczalgiris) July 31, 2024
Žalgiris Group provided London Lions with a short-term, three-month loan to cover essential expenses last week to save them from a winding up petition in court (as seen on Companies House), which will be returned to the group by Tesonet, who are going to acquire the club.
Though the transaction is not finalised, it is expected to be completed in the next month or so.
“Contributing to the management of the Lions club opens up new opportunities for Žalgiris to increase its visibility in Europe, to be close to London’s young talents and to ensure the long-term growth of the sports pyramid,” said Dainius Liulys, the new director of UAB Žalgiris Group in a statement on their website.
“The London Lions club, which will participate in the highest level international tournaments, will become another platform to attract and develop promising young basketball players from all over the world. At the same time, the club will be able to gain experience from the sports pyramid and management of “Žalgiris” basketball club, strengthening the sports potential and growing the fan base.”
Zalgiris seems to be focused on using the Lions to focus on youth development opportunities, where they can play in the professional league in the UK, but also in European club tournaments in the future which they intend to enter the Lions into.
“The players who grew up in the club system will not only help to achieve the highest results, but will also generate income, which the Lions will share together with Žalgiris,” the statement reads.
“At the same time, this will be an opportunity for the Kaunas club organisation to grow, both financially and from the point of view of experience in developing an international project.”
In addition, they are hoping through managing the Lions, they can build bridges with the basketball-loving Lithuanian community in London, of whom there are many.
Paulius Jankūnas, the President of Žalgiris added:
“The completed business transaction will not change the goals, obligations and management model of the Zalgiris basketball club. We are located in Kaunas, where everyone lives for basketball, we have an excellent sports infrastructure for the Zalgiris team.
“We’ll be looking to get as much out of London as we can when we get the chance. However, it is a very multicultural city, many representatives of other countries.
“In the youth teams of Zalgiris Kaunas, we always wanted to see more young people from different basketball schools. Now will be a great opportunity to be close to it and try them.”
With the Lions future now secured, Hoopsfix understands the league has an interested buyer in Manchester, leaving the only franchise left with an increasingly uncertain future to be Plymouth.
As it stands, everything is indicating the new league will launch with nine teams.
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