ASSE has finally found a buyer. After more than six years of twists and turns, Roland Romeyer and Bernard Caïazzo sold the club to the Kilmer Sports Ventures group. Other suitors came forward until the end of the sale process. One of them is now turning his attention to another historic L1 club, FC Nantes.
Monday, June 3, 2024 will remain an important date in the history of ASSE. After twenty years under the two-headed presidency of the Romeyer-Caïazzo duo, the Saint-Etienne club has passed under the Canadian flag. The sale of ASSE has caused a lot of ink to flow in recent years. It was finally the Canadian billionaire Larry Tanenbaum who took over as the new owner of ASSE through the Kilmer group. The latter chose Ivan Gazidis to lead this project which aims to restore its titles of nobility to a club in decline for far too long.
Overtaken by Larry Tanenbaum at ASSE
If Larry Tanenbaum won the contract, it is above all because he has always been Bernard Caïazzo’s choice. The latter has always wanted to find a billionaire for ASSE and has never hidden it. However, several other candidates have presented themselves to KPMG. This is particularly the case of the investment fund managed by Alexander Trent Arnold’s father. Mickaël Arnold, already invested in Formula 1, wants to invest in a Ligue 1 club. He was among the project entitled “Black Panther” where we also find the former experienced agent Paul Tavares. A file doubled by Larry Tanenbaum who had long been Bernard Caïazzo’s preference.
Another L1 club in the sights
According to information from L’Equipe, Mickaël Arnold would not have given up on the possibility of joining L1. Indeed, this same fund would insistently look at FC Nantes:
“After looking into the AS Saint-Étienne buyout file, the England international’s fund reportedly began studying that of Le Havre. Until it was redirected towards the takeover of FC Nantes by a member of Waldemar Kita’s entourage. The president-owner of the Canaries since the summer of 2007 is said to be tired of the difficulties encountered in bringing them back to the top of the bill in a sustainable way, despite a victory in the Coupe de France in 2022, synonymous with a return to the European scene. This earned him a tenacious hatred from the Nantes ultras. Kita also created a surprise by withdrawing his candidacy for the LFP board of directors on September 6. […]
Eager to recover all or part of his money sunk in the Canaries through the current account, the 71-year-old Franco-Polish businessman is said to be (very) greedy. The English are said to have offered €50 million payable in two years, out of the €125 million requested. That is an offer of €150 million in total. In addition to knowing whether the Alexander-Arnold family has the means to achieve its ambition, the question of the Kita family’s real desire to sell also arises.
Reached on Thursday evening, she categorically denied any discussion or desire to sell.
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