FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs FC Nantes - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - November 18, 2017 Paris St Germain fans display flags REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) - French billionaire and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault has teamed up with energy drinks company Red Bull to buy a controlling stake in French second-tier soccer club Paris FC, the Arnault family office said on Thursday.
Agache, the Arnault family's holding company, and Red Bull have entered into exclusive negotiations with current owner Pierre Ferracci to buy a majority stake in Paris FC, with Red Bull seeking a minority holding, Agache said in a statement.
It did not provide financial details of the proposed deal.
A takeover of the French club would mark Arnault's latest foray into sports after LVMH signed a 10-year sponsorship deal with Formula One this month and sponsored the Paris Olympics.
Those moves offer a new global stage to LVMH's powerhouse labels like Louis Vuitton and Dior, champagne-maker Moet & Chandon and watch brand Tag Heuer.
The proposed takeover continues a trend of billionaires buying soccer clubs across Europe, while overhauling a Paris-based outfit that could eventually rival Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint Germain, owned by Qatar Sports Investments.
Agache and Red Bull aim to provide Paris FC "with the necessary 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 added.
"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."
Agache said Red Bull, which already has a portfolio of clubs in South America, the United States, Austria and Germany, would mainly be involved in an advisory role, helping the club identify young talent or established players "to gradually return the men's team to the elite of men's football."
Earlier this month, former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp was appointed head of global soccer for Red Bull.
"On paper, it's a marriage made in heaven," sports analyst Simon Chadwick told Reuters when asked about the proposed joint investment by Arnault and Red Bull into the Paris club on Tuesday.
EXCEPTIONAL CHAPTER
Antoine Arnault, the son of the LVMH chairman, will represent the family on the Paris FC board.
"Our family has always been close to the world of sport," he said 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."
Paris FC were founded in 1969 before merging with Stade Saint-Germain to form Paris Saint-Germain in 1970. Two years later, they split from PSG to become Paris FC. They last played in the top flight in the 1978–79 season.
Paris FC, who are top of Ligue 2 and two points ahead of Lorient after eight games, averaged just under 5,500 spectators per match last season in the 19,000 Charlety stadium, despite tickets being free since last November.
Their women's team is in the French top flight.
Due to a lack of VIP boxes, Paris FC would probably need to at least temporarily move to the similar capacity Jean Bouin stadium, home to the French top rugby club Stade Francais, which is a few steps away from PSG's Parc des Princes.
"The question of the stadium had already been on the table before," Paris deputy mayor for sport Pierre Rabadan said.
"Charlety is a stadium where it's difficult to develop an economic scheme. There aren't many (VIP) boxes, a very large athletics track... The other option we're working on today is to see if it's possible to share Jean-Bouin with Stade Français.”
Red Bull own two of the 10 Formula One teams and have invested in soccer clubs across the globe with their previous move being taking a minority stake in English Championship (second-tier) side Leeds United last May.
That added to their portfolio of clubs in South America, the U.S., Austria and Germany with Champions League regulars RB Leipzig of the Bundesliga.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot and Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
