AMTD Sues Jalou Family Over Defamation Claims

PARIS, LONDON and NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AMTD Group Inc. ("AMTD Group"), AMTD IDEA Group (NYSE: AMTD; SGX: HKB), AMTD Digital Inc. (NYSE: HKD) and The Generation Essentials Group ("TGE", NYSE: TGE; LSE: TGE), a subsidiary of AMTD Digital Inc., jointly announce that AMTD IDEA Group has commenced legal action against Benjamin Eymere of the Jalou Family, in connection with serious defamatory action against the Group, as well as misconduct including bad faith harassment of the Group's staff and executives.

Eymere was a former employee of a subsidiary of the Group, and he was summarily dismissed due to his misconduct and mismanagement. He attempted to file an appeal in the Paris Court, but his actions have been continuously dismissed.

Moreover, Eymere's recent actions involving misconduct and bad faith have required AMTD to take legal actions, importantly to correct baseless allegations and misstatements in relation to the Group's L'Officiel and AMTD IDEA brands, which have been recently mentioned in certain press and social media publications.

AMTD has already made formal reports to law enforcement authorities in connection with Eymere's present and past misconduct.

AMTD firmly believes that the rule of law and fairness and justice will prevail, and looks forward to correcting and dispelling any slander or defamatory statements which might have been made against it.

On an overall basis, we take the opportunity to highlight certain evident inaccuracies in certain press and social media induced by Eymere and/or the Jalou family:

1) The Duly Completed Acquisition of 100% of L'Officiel in 2022 : The L'Officiel Brand was acquired in 2022 primarily from Gem Global Yield LLC SCS (GGY), which is part of Global Emerging Markets (GEM), a $3.4 billion alternative investment group, focusing on emerging markets with diverse investment vehicles like management buyouts, PIPE's (Private Investments in Public Equities), and venture investments (see official announcements by GEM as lead seller https://www.gemny.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/GEM-AMTD-PRESS-RELEASE-from-Paris-France-FINAL-Version.pdf and AMTD as the buyer https://ir.amtdinc.com/press-releases/news-details/2022/AMTD-International-Acquires-Global-Fashion-Media-Group-LOfficiel-Inc-SAS/default.aspx, in which both sides confirm that the AMTD acquisition has been completed with 100% of purchase price duly paid).

2) Since the AMTD's acquisition as a "white knight" investor, L'Officiel has not incurred any debt or engaged in liabilities for business, and L'Officiel nowadays is financially strong with solid equity base

3) The controlling shareholder from which AMTD acquired the business was GEM, not the Jalou family, nor Eymere. The Jalou family was not a controller nor a majority shareholder in L'Officiel at the time of acquisition.

AMTD would also strongly emphasize that it will tirelessly prosecute and continue legal action against any wrongdoers which seek to harm its reputation and breach the law. We are confident that our perseverance and commitment will inevitably bring justice and fairness, without reservations.