- The TFC ad has entered into “exclusive negotiations” for the sale of 85% of its capital to an American investment fund.
- RedBird Capital Partner is already involved in baseball, soccer, American football and sports rights across the Atlantic.
- Olivier Sadran, head of a club relegated to Ligue 2 but who disputes his descent, takes his part in the Bérézina in recent years.
- He wants to stay at the club as a minority shareholder and finalize the sale before July 15.
Americans to stop the losing spiral? In a statement released Thursday evening, in the middle of the Ascension Bridge, the Toulouse Football Club, theoretically relegated to Ligue 2, after a season in hell shortened by the coronavirus, announced that it was entering "exclusive negotiations" with RedBird Capital Partners, an American investment fund, for the sale of 85% of its capital.
The entrepreneur Olivier Sadran, president and majority shareholder of the club since 2001, a period when the Violets had been relegated to the third division, had for the first time mentioned his departure six months ago, opening the door to many speculations.
# TFC
press release this Thursday, May 21, 2020. → https://t.co/ciOiUC2YDC pic.twitter.com/HalJgc721r
As for OM or the Girondins de Bordeaux, it is therefore a passage under the American flag that is looming. "I am convinced that RedBird Capital Partners has the skills and resources necessary to allow the TFC to return to the elite of French football while respecting our values of citizenship and involvement in the local economic fabric," explains the boss of club. He also specifies that as a “Toulousain by birth”, he wishes to “keep a minority stake” in a structure for which he feels “responsible”. "We are impatient to finalize our partnership with Olivier and to position Toulouse FC on the road to success in the future", announces Gerry (Gerald in fact) Cardinale, the founder and "managing partner" of RedBird Capital Partners .
Who is the American buyer?
Gerry Cardinale is a Goldman Sachs alumnus with whom he worked for 20 years before founding his own investment fund in 2014. The latter "manages more than $ 3 billion in equity". "RedBird has twenty years of experience in partnering with iconic sports teams and leagues to create high performance sports and entertainment companies," says Gerry Cardinale. In the United States, the fund is notably involved in baseball with the New York Yankees, in American football with the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys. He also helps the American women's soccer team, world champion, to manage its image and maintains links with the female athletes of the National Basketball League. Redbird finally holds shares in a regional sports chain.
"RedBird provides flexible, long-term capital to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses," said TFC, as if to dismiss the specter of a buyer looking for immediate profitability.
The ambiguous situation of the TFC, straddling two divisions
In an email from Olivier Sadran sent to the main partners of the TFC, unveiled Thursday evening by supporters on the LesViolets.com site, the current president evokes his appeal to the administrative court on the relegation of the TFC to Ligue 2, while 30 points remained to be taken when the championship stopped. Without denying the catastrophic season of his team, he invokes respect for "sports equity". But, later in the mail, he seems to have made a reason. "I am convinced that with the relegation assistance, the skills and financial commitments of RedBird Capital Partners and your support, the club will soon find Ligue 1," he wrote.
A "mess" and the date of July 15
In this famous letter, of which AFP certifies the authenticity, Olivier Sadran also sketches an assessment of his presidency. He talks about the great moments and the rapid recovery of the start of his management, the successes of the training center with Wissam Ben Yedder, Moussa Sissoko or Issa Diop.
The entrepreneur also recognizes his involvement in “a painting” which has “darkened” for 4-5 years. He speaks of "recruiting and coaching errors that have multiplied". “As the majority shareholder (…), I very clearly bear full responsibility for this mess, no doubt monopolized by my profession, but also imagining that it was enough to ensure good financial continuity for everything to happen correctly, "says the boss of Newrest, specializing in particular in the supply of meal trays to airlines, a sector in turmoil with the Covid-19.
Finally in the email, Olivier Sadran talks about his hope to finalize the sales agreement before "July 15".
The mayor of Toulouse does not want a "primarily financial" approach
In the reactions aroused by the announcement of a possible passage of the TFC under the star banner, that of Jean-Luc Moudenc (LR), mayor of the Pink City and president of Toulouse Métropole. He paid a vibrant tribute to Olivier Sadran and announced that he would soon meet Gerry Cardinale with him. He means "personally to the future majority shareholders" that "the human and social purpose of sport is fundamental" and that he cannot "approve an approach which would be above all financial".
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