French billionaire and LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault has partnered with Red Bull to enter into exclusive negotiations on the purchase of the Parisian Football Club.
Agache, the holding company of France’s richest man Arnault, is in discussions about buying a majority stake in the French club. Red Bull is advising Agache and is also in negotiations to buy a minority stake.
A Paris Football Club press release notes that Agache has ambitions “to establish men’s and women’s teams sustainably among the elite of French football and in the hearts of Parisians.”
Agache will provide “entrepreneurial insight” as well as expertise in “economic development and brand impact”, while Red Bull will play an advisory role on the sports side of the business.
The Paris men’s soccer team tops Ligue 2 and last competed in the French league in 1979. The women’s team is fourth in the women’s top flight and reached the group stages of the Champions League last season. The club was initially part of a merger when Paris Saint-Germain was founded in 1970, but they split from the club two years later and re-established themselves as a separate entity.
Paris Saint-Germain is the only club from the French capital competing in Ligue 1 – in contrast, London has seven men’s top-flight teams this season and Real Madrid have five.
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Bernard Arnault is worth $163.9bn (£126.06bn), according to ForbesHe is the fifth richest person in the world. The 75-year-old is the founder, chairman and CEO of LVMH, the Paris-based luxury goods company that owns brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany.
Antoine Arnault said: “Thanks to our support, as well as the valuable support of our partner Red Bull, we hope to gradually write a beautiful chapter of French football together, without setting specific goals at this stage.” He is set to become Agache’s representative on the board of directors of the Paris Football Club.
Red Bull already owns a number of clubs around the world, including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls, and also owns a minority stake in Leeds United. It was announced this month that former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will become Red Bull’s new global director of football.
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Oliver Mintzlaff, Managing Director of Red Bull and Chief Corporate Ventures and Investments, added: “We want to offer our experience and knowledge to open new sporting horizons for Paris FC. Paris and the Ile-de-France region are a breeding ground for exceptional football talents who must first train and grow at a club in their region.
As part of the proposed takeover, Paris Football Club president Pierre Ferracci and the club’s existing structures will help ensure that the club’s colours, crest and identity are “respected”. Ferracci will remain a shareholder in the club.
“The arrival of Agace to our club, with the support of Red Bull, as the new owner is a unique opportunity that I immediately accepted and welcomed with great enthusiasm,” Ferracci said.
The acquisition is subject to the completion of legal documents and the approval of the French Professional Clubs Control Committee.
Since 2020, Paris FC has been 20 percent owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain, which also serves as the club’s main sponsor.
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(Jeffrey van der Hasselt/AFP via Getty Images)
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