who are the new investors with whom AS Saint-Etienne is in exclusive negotiations with a view to its takeover?

Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo, the two presidents of the Saint-Etienne club, have been struggling for several years to find a successor, but announced on Monday that they were entering into exclusive negotiations with the Kilmer Sports Ventures group.

In the pipeline since 2018 and promised since May 2022, the sale of AS Saint-Etienne is getting closer. In a press release published Monday May 13, the Forez club indicates that Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo, owners of the club since 2004, have entered into exclusive negotiations with the Kilmer Sports Ventures group, specialist in investment in sport and the media. A group which belongs to the Canadian Larry Tanenbaum, but which is chaired by Ivan Gazidis.

In the running to secure a promotion place in Ligue 1 or a play-off place, ASSE is currently third in Ligue 2, one day before the end of the championship. Moving on, Ivan Gazidis is renowned for his ability to generate money, particularly during his previous experiences in football.

Member of the founding team of Major League Soccer, the American football league, he was its deputy commissioner from 2001 to 2009, a position involving marketing functions.

This 59-year-old Greek-South African then took charge of Arsenal, from 2009 to 2018 and of AC Milan, from 2018 to 2022, where he held the position of general manager. If the sporting results were not convincing in London, he left a good memory in Lombardy where he participated in the recovery of the club.

However, he is the subject of an investigation in Italy [article en anglais] since he could have hidden from the Italian football federation information relating to the sale of the club to the investment fund RedBird Capital Partners, by another fund, Elliott, in 2022.

Separately, Italian prosecutors say Elliott still owns and controls the club rossonerowhile this investment fund is also the creditor of Merlyn Partners, owner of Losc in France, which would contravene UEFA rules on the integrity of European competitions and co-ownership.

Ivan Gazidis was named president of Kilmer Sports Ventures on March 5. This group is owned by a Canadian businessman, Larry Tanenbaum, whose family made its fortune in construction.

Born in Toronto (Canada), Tanenbaum grew his inheritance to bring his current fortune to $2.5 billion, according to the magazine Forbes. For comparison, that’s $1.1 billion more than Franck McCourt, the owner of Olympique de Marseille.

At 79 years old, passionate about sports, he is also the director of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a group that owns several American sports franchises in his hometown, including the Toronto Raptors in the NBA, the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL and the Toronto FC in MLS.

Discreet in the media, he is nevertheless the president of the NBA franchise owners’ council. Re-elected in September 2022 to this position, “his leadership, guidance and support […] are very appreciated”declared Adam Silver, the commissioner of the basketball league.

“As a football lover, the name Saint-Étienne represents something extremely powerful. I am very excited and proud to have the opportunity to get involved with a legendary club, fully aware of the responsibility that this represents. With Larry, whom I have known for 20 years, we share the same values ​​and the same passion for football that we found among the Greens. We want to build an ambitious project that strengthens the influence of the club and its positive role for the people of Stéphane.” declared Ivan Gazidis in the press release published on the ASSE website.

“We needed a new shareholder who ticked all the boxes and was not an investment fund but a company that knows sport with strong human values.”

Bernard Caïazzo, Chairman of the ASSE Supervisory Board

The Chairman of the ASSE Supervisory Board, Bernard Caïazzo, welcomed this choice, believing that he had “great hope of concluding very soon.” The club informs that “the sale must be ratified in the coming weeks, once the information and consultation obligations of stakeholders and competent authorities have been completed”.