Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The family of LVMH’s Bernard Arnault has teamed up with Red Bull to take over Paris FC in the second tier of French football as the luxury billionaire expands his involvement in sport.
Arnault and his five adult children, who all have operational roles within the luxury group, will become majority shareholders through one of their holding companies alongside sport drink maker Red Bull, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
Under the terms of the deal — which could still shift, the people said — Paris FC president and majority shareholder Pierre Ferracci will retain a 30 per cent shareholding until 2027, after which he plans to exit. The Arnault family will take a 55 per cent stake in the club until they can buy the rest of Ferraci’s share in a few years, while Red Bull will take 15 per cent.
The deal was first reported by sports news outlet L’Équipe. The Arnault family and LVMH declined to comment. Ferracci and Red Bull did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The negotiations on the Arnault’s side were led by Antoine, Arnault’s eldest son, and Frédéric, the second youngest.
Antoine leads communications at the luxury group and is chief executive of holding company Christian Dior SE. Frédéric heads up LVMH’s watchmaking division and is deputy managing director at Financière Agache, another family holding.
LVMH last week announced a 10-year deal with car racing franchise Formula One, and was a high profile sponsor of this summer’s Paris Olympics. The initiatives are part of a wider push by luxury groups to link themselves to sports teams, franchises and stars as they seek to connect with an ever wider audience.
Red Bull, which markets its fizzy energy drinks through sport, owns two F1 racing teams and several football clubs. The Austrian-based company on Wednesday hired former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp to head its network of football clubs, his first job since leaving the English club in the summer.
Red Bull took a minority stake in English second-tier football club Leeds United in May, adding to a portfolio of teams in the US, Brazil, Austria and Germany.
Arnault, 75, whose family owns 48 per cent of LVMH, has an estimated personal worth of $191bn, according to Bloomberg. Red Bull’s revenues totalled more than €10.5bn in 2023, a 9 per cent increase from the prior year.
A takeover would also be welcome news for French football after the collapse in the value of its media rights.
Unlike London, Paris is dominated by one club. Owned by state-backed Qatar Sports Investments, Paris Saint-Germain has won the top French league six times in the past seven seasons.
In contrast, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are among the London-based football clubs that do battle in the English Premier League. Milan boasts AC Milan and Internazionale, while Manchester has Manchester City and Manchester United.
Bahrain took a 20 per cent stake in Paris FC in 2020 but the club has remained in Ligue 2. It is top of the division after eight matches played so far this season, raising hopes of promotion to the top flight.