Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé has become the majority shareholder of Ligue 2 club Caen through his investment fund Coalition Capital.
Coalition Capital has bought 80 percent of the club’s shares, which were held by asset manager Oaktree Capital Management, which also owns 99.6 percent of Italian club Inter Milan.
Coalition Capital is the investment fund of Interconnected Ventures, founded by Mbappe and “dedicated to driving continuous innovation in sports, media and investments”.
Caen — located in the city in Normandy, 240 km west of Paris — confirmed the transfer of funds from Oaktree to Coalition Capital on Wednesday.
Ziad Hammoud, CEO of Interconnected Ventures, becomes president of Caen.
Coalition Capital Announces Repurchase of Oaktree Assets @SMCaen on the sides of PAC Invest. #SMCaen #TeamSMC
— Stade Malherbe Caen (@SMCaen) July 31, 2024
“As the lead investor in this project, we are very excited to continue the development of Caen, together with PAC Invest (the investment company of Pierre-Antoine Capton, who remains a minority shareholder in the club),” said Hammoud.
“Our shared vision with the club of sporting excellence and community involvement is central to our approach. We are determined to create an environment in which young talent can flourish and in which the club can assert its identity with strength and ambition.”
Caen have played in Ligue 2 since 2019 (JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images)
When he was 13, Mbappé came close to joining Caen’s youth academywho followed him for three years and talked to his family about a transfer. However, the striker joined Monaco.
Caen finished sixth in Ligue 2 in the 2023–24 season, missing out on the play-offs for promotion to Ligue 1 by one point, having finished fifth the previous season.
The club played five seasons in the French top division until relegation in 2019, with players such as N’Golo Kante, Raphael Guerreiro and William Gallas breaking into the first team.
(Aurelien Meunier – PSG/PSG via Getty Images)
