Red Bull and Arnault of LVMH are negotiating to purchase Paris FC of France

The Arnault family office announced on Thursday that French billionaire and LVMH (LVMH.PA) opens new tab chairman Bernard Arnault has partnered with energy drink firm Red Bull to purchase a majority share in French second-tier soccer club Paris FC.

The Arnault family’s holding business, Agache, announced in a statement that it and Red Bull have reached exclusive talks with current owner Pierre Ferracci to purchase a majority investment in Paris FC, with Red Bull aiming for a minority holding.

It omitted information on the prospective deal’s finances.
After LVMH sponsored the Paris Olympics and inked a 10-year sponsorship contract with Formula One last month, acquiring the French club would be Arnault’s most recent sports venture.

These actions give LVMH’s leading brands, like Louis Vuitton and Dior, Moet & Chandon, and Tag Heuer, a new platform on a worldwide scale.

The potential buyout follows a pattern in which billionaires purchase soccer teams throughout Europe while renovating a Paris-based team that may one day compete with Qatar Sports Investments’ Paris Saint Germain, the Ligue 1 champions.

“With the resources to… permanently establish the men’s and women’s teams among the elite of French football and within the hearts of the Parisians,” Agache continued, is the goal that Red Bull and Agache have set for Paris FC.

“With the arrival of Agache as the club’s majority shareholder, the club will take on a new dimension with new goals and criteria for success.”

According to Agache, Red Bull, which now owns clubs in South America, the US, Austria, and Germany, would mostly play an advisory role in assisting the club in identifying either established players or up-and-coming talent “to gradually return the men’s team to the elite of men’s football.”

Juergen Klopp, the former manager of Liverpool, was named Red Bull’s head of global soccer earlier this month.

“On paper, it’s a marriage made in heaven,” sports commentator Simon Chadwick told Reuters on Tuesday in response to a question concerning Arnault and Red Bull’s potential combined ownership in the Paris club.

OUTSTANDING CHAPTER

The LVMH chairman’s son, Antoine Arnault, will serve as the family’s representative on the board of Paris FC.

“Our family has always been close to the world of sport,” he stated in the statement. “With our support, as well as the invaluable support of our partner Red Bull, we are very hopeful that, gradually, we will together write a new and exceptional chapter in French football history.”

Before combining with Stade Saint-Germain to become Paris Saint-Germain in 1970, Paris FC was established in 1969. They left PSG to become Paris FC two years later. The 1978–79 season was their last time competing in the top level.

Even though tickets have been free since last November, Paris FC, who are now leading Ligue 2 and two points ahead of Lorient after eight games, drew an average of little under 5,500 fans each game at the 19,000-seat Charlety stadium last season.
Their women’s team competes in the first division of France.

A short distance from PSG’s Parc des Princes, the Jean Bouin stadium, which has a similar capacity and is home to the French premier rugby team Stade Francais, would likely have to serve as Paris FC’s temporary home due to a shortage of VIP boxes.

Pierre Rabadan, the deputy mayor for sport in Paris, stated that the stadium issue has previously been discussed.

“Charlety is a stadium where creating an economic plan is challenging. There is a huge athletics track, but not many VIP boxes. Today, we are also exploring the possibility of sharing Jean-Bouin with Stade Français.

In addition to owning two of the ten Formula One teams, Red Bull has made investments in soccer teams all over the world. In May of last year, they acquired a minority position in Leeds United, a team in the English Championship (second division).

They now have clubs in South America, the United States, Austria, and Germany in addition to Bundesliga Champions League regulars RB Leipzig.