Chelsea F.C Co-Owner Todd Boehly appears to be interested in growing his football portfolio in Europe as reports emerge from L’Équipe he is considering a bid for Ligue 1 club Racing Club Strasbourg.
The French sports media outlet revealed that Boehly has even held talks with RC Strasbourg President Marc Keller over acquiring the French football club.
Boehly and his consortium – that includes US private equity firm Clearlake Capital – are interested in buying a 100% of RC Strasbourg, looking to broaden its reach in European football since the consortium bought Chelsea last May for a fee of £2.5bn, with a further £1.75bn committed to invest into Stamford Bridge.
RC Strasbourg is made up of eleven shareholders, which includes President Keller, have put out feelers to attract outside investors to the club according to L’Équipe having already met “several potential investors”.
A source told the French outlet that the club “know that this will go through the arrival of a strong partner who brings investment power” with Boehly reportedly “very interested” in acquiring RC Strasbourg but no official bid has been tabled as of yet.
Despite the reported interest, local French media outlet BFM Alsace claims that a takeover from Boehly is not likely, labelling the meeting between the Chelsea owner and the club as a “non-event”.
BFM Alsace believes that there has been no follow-up meeting since the initial meeting between the two parties, with RC Strasbourg also believed to be in no rush over new financial backing in terms of fresh investment or a potential full-scale takeover, as the club is believed to be in a “financially healthy” state.
Insider Sport Analysis: If Boehly is successful in his takeover of RC Strasbourg, it would be a significant move in his plans for the growth of its sports portfolio, which already includes Chelsea F.C and MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers. Whilst the US businessman will have to remain vigilant of UEFA’s multi-club ownership regulations, precedent has been set across Europe for him to avoid infringement.
