France captain Mbappe buys Ligue 2 club Caen

PARIS: France captain Kylian Mbappe has taken over as majority shareholder of Ligue 2 club Caen, Mbappe’s company Interconnected Ventures announced in a statement on Wednesday.

The new Real Madrid player, who came close to signing for Caen when he was younger, has acquired 80 percent of the shares through Coalition Capital, the investment entity of Interconnected Ventures, replacing US investment fund Oaktree as majority shareholder.

No figure has been released officially but French media reports put the acquisition fee at 15-20 million euros ($16-21.6 million). “This transaction marks a significant step in the club’s strategic development and reinforces its natural ambition to remain one of the most successful clubs in French football,” the club said in a statement.

“This acquisition will provide Caen with additional strategic resources to strengthen its sporting policy, modernise its infrastructure and develop innovative projects.” Mbappe’s close friend Ziad Hammoud will take over as chairman of the club.