City Football Group has today announced that Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), in France’s Ligue 2, has become its tenth club, following DNCG review of the acquisition. This marks CFG’s continued investment and expansion into global football and its strategy to develop clubs, players and academies and share knowledge across them.
Founded in 1986, ESTAC calls the 20,400 capacity Stade de l'Aube, home. The Club won the Intertoto Cup in 2001 and were Ligue 2 champions in 2014-15, finishing in fourth place, one point off promotion, when the 2019-20 season was suspended.
CFG will become the new majority shareholder in ESTAC, having acquired the shares owned by previous owner, Daniel Masoni. French businessman Maxime Ray has also acquired a minority stake in the Club. He will take a seat on the Club’s board.
CFG, the world’s leading private owner and operator of football clubs, which is best known for its ownership of Manchester City FC, also comprises New York City in the US, Melbourne City FC in Australia, Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, Montevideo City Torque in Uruguay, Girona FC in Spain, Sichuan Jiuniu FC in China, Mumbai City FC in India and Lommel SK in Belgium.
Ferran Soriano, Chief Executive of City Football Group, said:
“We have had an interest in French football for some time and have long admired ESTAC, so we are delighted to have completed the acquisition of our tenth club and have a permanent presence in France. This is a milestone for City Football Group and demonstrates how our model continues to adapt and grow in a relatively short space of time.
“At City Football Group, our objective remains to play beautiful football, identify and develop grassroots talent and have a permanent presence in the world’s football centres. There is no doubt that France is one of the top football countries in the world and we are proud to be part of that community. We look forward to getting to know our new home and the Club’s fans and working together to create a bright future for ESTAC. We would also like to thank Mr Masoni for all his contributions to the Club”.