Kylian Mbappé Officially Becomes Football Team Owner
The Real Madrid player has become the majority shareholder of Caen, a historic French club currently competing in Ligue 2.
Kylian Mbappé, the star signing of Real Madrid, has become the majority shareholder of the French second-division football club SM Caen by purchasing through the financial instrument Coalition Capital, which acquired 80% of the club from the American fund Oaktree Capital.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Stade Malherbe Caen noted that PAC Invest, the holding company of the club’s supervisory chairman Pierre-Antoine Capton, which held a 20% stake, will remain involved.
The team did not disclose the transaction amount, but media reports suggest it could be around €15-20 million ($16.2-21.6 million).
The statement emphasized that "this acquisition will allow Caen to benefit from additional strategic resources to strengthen its sports policy, modernize its facilities, and develop innovative projects."
It also highlighted that during the four years Oaktree and Capton, the head of the European audiovisual production group Mediawan, were in charge, they worked to ensure "financial management, support young players, and consolidate the club's regional base and its ties with local stakeholders."
Ziad Hammoud, CEO of the Interconnected Ventures fund, which oversees Coalition Capital, expressed excitement about continuing the development of Stade Malherbe Caen.
"We are determined to create an environment where young talents can thrive and where the club can robustly and ambitiously defend its identity," said Hammoud, who is close to Mbappé and will assume the presidency of the club, replacing Olivier Pickeu.
Mbappé and Caen: A Longstanding Connection
Mbappé has a long history with Caen, nearly signing with the club in 2012 when he was just 13 years old, but the move did not materialize due to French regulations on signing very young players.
A year later, after those administrative barriers had been lifted, Caen had been relegated to the second division, and the player's family chose Monaco, where he stayed until 2017 when he was transferred to Paris Saint-Germain.
Caen, which finished last season in sixth place in the French second division (Ligue 2), is a club that has traditionally focused on youth development and the nurturing of young players.