As promised by the buyers, the cards have been dealt. Shaun Hégarty, Flip Van der Merwe and Marc Baget revealed their game, the investors behind their project. Via a press release, the club announced this Tuesday, May 7, in particular the arrival of three investors. With these partners, the Olympic Biarritz estimated having succeeded in presenting “financial guarantees and deposits” to the French rugby regulatory authority.
Among these investors, there is Pierre-Edouard Stérin. Unknown to the general public, he is nevertheless one of the most influential billionaires of the moment. Entrepreneur, the native of Évreux, created the “Smartbox”. This company specializes in gift boxes. The businessman described as a “fervent Catholic” felt that it was “dismaying that Biarritz Olympique, which played some of our greatest rugby players, several times French champion and European vice-champion, disappears into general indifference.” According to the newspaper Le Monde, he is at the head of a fortune estimated at 1.2 billion euros, the 104th largest in France. Today he wishes to project himself onto “a new starting line and the writing of a new future for the BO”.
“A lover of the soundtrack”
A well-known name in the world of media also came to contribute: Pierre Fraidenraich. It is defined as a “lovers of Biarritz Olympique”. The former director of the television channels Infosport+ (1998-2008), I-Télé and the newspaper Libération says he “happy to help write the future of the club”.
Finally, a new close friend of Romain Détré, the Limougeaud businessman, signs his entry via his company. Horizon 7 Consulting arrives at the Rouge et Blanc. This company is owned by Pierre Rondinaud. This is Détré’s brother-in-law. “We are proud to support the BO”, reacted Pierre Rondinaud. Arnaud Dubois, who advised Romain Détré last year during his attempt to buy Biarritz Olympique, should take the helm of the board and therefore the presidency of the Biarritz club in mid-May.
