Last summer, Kilmer Sports Ventures purchased a fallen giant in French football – AS Saint-Étienne. However, Les Verts were not the Canadian consortium’s first interest in European football. As owner Larry Tanenbaum told L’Équipe. not only was there an interest in Chelsea, he also believes that Kilmer Sports Ventures made the best offer to buy the London club.
After the imposition of government sanctions, Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Chelsea back in 2022. Ultimately, after a lengthy process, it was BlueCo, a consortium led by Todd Boehly, who took the reins at Stamford Bridge. Kilmer Sports Ventures were also involved in the bidding process and Tanenbaum has now detailed how, despite making the best offer, his consortium ultimately missed out.
“A few years ago, we wanted to make an offer in England to buy Chelsea with one of the owners of the Boston Celtics, Steve Pagliuca, when Abramovich had to sell the club. There were only three candidates at the end and we had the best offer but Abramovich came back and asked for £500m more,” said Tanenbaum.
Kilmer Sports Ventures turn focus to Saint-Étienne
Despite having missed out on purchasing Chelsea, Tanenbaum’s interest in European football grew and Saint-Étienne were identified as a “seductive” opportunity. Kilmer Sports Ventures began talks to buy ASSE at the start of last season and upon the conclusion of the purchase of the club, they were promoted back to Ligue 1 after a two-year absence.
Currently in the relegation zone with four games remaining, Les Verts are at risk of a return to Ligue 2. “It would be a setback,” admits Tanenbaum, however, he emphasises that “it doesn’t change the project” and that the plan remains to put Saint-Étienne back on the map in European football.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
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