France's richest family can transform soccer landscape with Paris FC takeover

The Arnault family, owners of the LVMH luxury goods conglomerate, are in "exclusive negotiations" to buy a controlling stake in French football club Paris FC in a deal that will see energy drinks giant Red Bull secure a minority shareholding.

The Agache group, which is controlled by LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, said in a statement that it hoped to transform the French capital's second professional club into one of the country's leading sides.

Paris FC "is about to embark on a new chapter in its rich history with the Arnault family and Red Bull, who are negotiating the acquisition of a minority stake."

"Agache, with the advice of Red Bull, intends to contribute to the influence of the club's unique values and provide it with the necessary resources to pursue its economic, civic and sporting development. It is driven by a twofold ambition: to permanently establish the men's and women's teams among the elite of French football and within the hearts of the Parisians."

The hope is that Paris FC can go on in the long term to challenge Paris Saint-Germain, who have dominated French football since being taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011 and have won the Ligue 1 title in 10 of the past 12 seasons, while also reaching the Champions League final in 2020.

Paris FC have not been in the top flight of French football since 1979 but are currently top of Ligue 2 and hoping to win promotion this season.

'New and exceptional chapter'

A source close to the negotiations said the Arnault family, France's wealthiest with Bernard and his five children, would initially purchase a 55 percent stake in the club with Red Bull acquiring 15 percent.

Pierre Ferracci, the 72-year-old businessman who has been at the helm of the club since 2012, is expected to maintain a 30 percent stake before handing that over in 2027, when the Arnault family share would jump to 85 percent.

"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," said Antoine Arnault, the son of Bernard Arnault, who will represent Agache on the board.

He said there would be no "specific objectives at this stage" while adding: "Sport sometimes holds many surprises".

Brands that fall under the LVMH umbrella include Louis Vuitton, Dior and champagne producer Moet.

But moving into football marks a new venture for the Arnaults, who will hope the expertise of Red Bull helps transform Paris FC into a leading club in France and in Europe.

'Experience and know-how'

The energy drinks giant already has a large stable of football clubs including Champions League regulars RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

It recently appointed Jurgen Klopp as head of football operations, meaning the former Liverpool manager could have a say in how Paris FC shape up on the pitch.

"We want to offer our experience and know-how to open up new sporting horizons for Paris FC," Red Bull director general Oliver Mintzlaff said in the same statement.

Paris FC's women's team featured in the Champions League last season and the aim is to turn them into regular challengers to Lyon and PSG in the domestic women's league, while also ensuring that there are two clubs from the French capital in the men's Ligue 1, something which has not happened since the demise of Racing Paris in 1990.

Arnault, one of the world's richest people, has also moved to build the empire in directions other than luxury, notably taking control of the Paris Match weekly magazine.

LVMH's high profile and highly visible product placement in the Paris Olympic Games, designing medals, ceremonial uniforms and presentation trays, raised eyebrows and created some tensions with the Games' long-term sponsors.

Links to PSG

Paris FC are closely related to Paris Saint-Germain.

They were formed in 1969 and quickly merged with a team from the suburb of Saint-Germain to form PSG.

There was a split in 1972. Paris FC were relegated from the top flight in 1974 and have only had one season there since, in 1978/79.

It is only in the last decade that they have become regulars again in Ligue 2, and now they top the table.

If PSG are associated with Qatar, Bahrain are the shirt sponsors of Paris FC.

Levels of investment are nowhere near the scale of what has been seen at PSG, but Paris FC still spent upwards of one million euros ($1.087 million) before this season on striker Jean-Philippe Krasso from Red Star Belgrade.

They also signed former Marseille midfielder Maxime Lopez, who played in Serie A last season for Fiorentina, but appear unlikely to invest huge sums in the transfer market immediately.

"Contrary to some of the nonsense I have heard, we have absolutely no intention to spend big in the January window," sporting director Francois Ferracci told Le Parisien.

While PSG attract over 45,000 fans to the Parc des Princes and are considering building a bigger stadium, Paris FC's recent home games have drawn fewer than 6,000 spectators on average.

That is despite offering free admission to matches at the Stade Charlety, an unloved 20,000-capacity venue in southern Paris.

"If we could start to get 10-15,000 fans at every home game that would be huge," the team's coach, Stephane Gilli, said in an interview published by the club.

The longer-term ambitions are clearly far greater for a club who have a notable ambassador in the shape of former PSG and Brazil star Rai.

"I want Parisians to believe that Paris deserves at least two top-flight clubs of a good level," Rai, who holds a small stake in Paris FC, told France Info radio earlier this year.