It had long since struck midnight when Pierre Ferracci picked up his phone on October 10. At the end of the line, a friendly voice, but less friendly than usual. “Why didn’t you tell me?” » Emmanuel Macron has just learned that his interlocutor, the father of one of his best friends, Marc Ferracci, recently appointed Minister Delegate of Industry, is in very advanced talks to sell his football club. Prepares to sell Paris FC (PFC) to a tandem of shareholders formed by the Arnault family, owner of the luxury giant LVMH, and the Austrian group Red Bull. Over the phone, Pierre Ferracci managed to convince his interlocutor that the success of the sales project required absolute confidentiality. “I didn’t dare tell the President of the Republic that if we informed him, all of Paris would know”today the president of the club from the south of the capital confides.
Since the end of April, visits to the PFC headquarters have multiplied for weeks. The auditors examined the account books, commercial lawyers were entrusted, representatives of the Red Bull group, including former German international Mario Gómez, the company’s football technical director, came to observe the operation at the Plaine training center d’Orly (Marne Valley). Miracle, nothing happened… until the beginning of October, when The team revealed the first details of the operation. The Arnaults, through the Agache family holding company, will initially acquire 55% of the shares. The Red Bull group, which owns several football teams around the world and contributes its sporting experience, will invest 15%. Pierre Ferracci retains 30% of the capital, which he should sell in 2027, as well as the club’s presidency, which will then fall to Antoine Arnault, eldest son of patriarch Bernard Arnault. The two men should clarify their respective motivations during a press conference on Wednesday, November 20.
For Pierre Ferracci, this planned sale “for a long time” This is a relief: it is also the promise of a large financial transaction, even if no figures have been released. The Corsican businessman, president of the audit and consulting group Alpha, has been at the helm of Paris FC since 2012. Founded in 1969, the club developed in the shadow of its voluminous neighbor, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). There is a territorial rivalry between their youth sections, as well as their women’s teams, but there is no rivalry among the men. Ferracci’s club stagnated in lower divisions until reaching Ligue 2, the second tier of French professional soccer, in 2015.
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