Saint-Étienne confirms the sale project initiated with Kilmer Group

AS Saint-Étienne has never been so close to being sold. After several aborted projects in recent years, the owners of the Saint-Etienne club finally seem to have found the right profile for a recovery. As announced on April 18 by L’Équipe, this is the Canadian group Kilmer Sports Ventures, based in Toronto and specializing in investment in the world of sport and media. The opening of exclusive negotiations was confirmed this Monday by ASSE in a press release, in which its owners spoke publicly on the subject for the first time.

“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,” explained Bernard Caïazzo, chairman of the supervisory board. This is the case of this large, powerful and talented Canadian group. It will have been a long road but it was my essential mission to ensure the sustainable future of ASSE. (…) We have great hope of concluding very soon. »

“We wanted to transfer this legendary club to a new shareholder with the financial and sporting capabilities to develop a responsible and ambitious project”

Roland Romeyer, chairman of the ASSE board of directors

Chairman of the board of directors for twenty years, Roland Romeyer was also delighted with the progress of the discussions: “Faced with the relentless evolution of football, we wanted to transfer this legendary club to a new shareholder with the financial and sporting capabilities to develop a responsible and ambitious project. »

Gazidis in charge

The project is led by the Greek-South African Ivan Gazidis (59 years old), well known in the industry, after his stints at Arsenal and AC Milan. “As a football lover, the name Saint-Étienne represents something extremely powerful. I am extremely enthusiastic and proud to have the opportunity to join a legendary club, fully aware of the responsibility that this represents, said the businessman. With Larry (Tanenbaum, president of Kilmer Group), whom I have known for twenty years, we share the same values ​​and the same passion for football that we found among the Greens. »

“I am proud to have the opportunity to join a legendary club, fully aware of the responsibility that this represents”

Ivan Gazidis, President of Kilmer Sports Ventures

“We want to build an ambitious project that strengthens the influence of the club and its positive role for the people of Stéphane,” continued Gazidis. The strength of the club lies not only in its identity and its supporters, but also in the work carried out in recent years by the management, which has been able to build a solid model on which to build. We want to work hand in hand, over the long term, with everyone who wants the Greens to succeed. »

The sale would be between 20 and 30 million euros and could be announced on Wednesday. Two days before a crucial match for the future of the club, Friday in Rouen against QRM in Ligue 2. ASSE can still dream of a return to the elite.