RC Strasbourg Alsace
Todd Boehly / Clearlake Capital-led consortium (BlueCo) acquisition · 22 Jun 2023
- Seller
- Marc Keller and a group of local/regional investors
- Stake acquired
- 100.0%
- Control
- Yes
- Reported consideration
- ~€75m
- Implied equity value
- —
- League
- Ligue 1
- Country
- France
- Confidence
- MEDIUM
Todd Boehly / Clearlake Capital-led consortium (BlueCo) acquired a 100.0% majority stake in RC Strasbourg Alsace from Marc Keller and a group of local/regional investors, announced 22 Jun 2023, closing 1 Jul 2023.
Reported consideration was ~€75m. ~€39.5m of new capital went into the club.
Nearest pre-acquisition revenue was €62.1m (FY 2022/23).
- Announced
- 22 Jun 2023
- Closed
- 1 Jul 2023
- Stake after transaction
- 100.0%
- Status
- completed
Reported consideration
What the buyer reportedly paid for the stake
Implied 100% equity value
Calculated: consideration ÷ stake acquired
Reported club valuation
Enterprise value
Only shown when debt/cash near the transaction date is established
Debt assumed / restructured
Primary capital injection
Total announced investment commitment
Commitments are not purchase price and not valuation
Nearest pre-acquisition financial year: 2022/23
Revenue
Wages
EBITDA
Net debt
Net income
BlueCo — the Boehly/Clearlake-led consortium that bought Chelsea FC in May 2022 — announced on 22 June 2023 that it had agreed to take near-total control (~99.97%, per Sportcal) of RC Strasbourg Alsace from president Marc Keller (previously ~27% owner) and a group of regional investors, with the deal closing around 1 July 2023. This was BlueCo's first move into multi-club ownership and is structured through a French local vehicle, BlueCo Alsace, sitting under the same ultimate ownership group (BlueCo 22 Limited, UK) that holds Chelsea — i.e., Strasbourg and Chelsea are sister clubs under common control, which is precisely the multi-club scenario UEFA's ownership/integrity rules (and FIFA's related rules on player transfers between commonly-owned clubs) are designed to police; both clubs qualifying for the same UEFA competition in the same season would trigger those rules, though that scenario had not yet materialized as of the deal date.
- RC Strasbourg Alsace — Official statement: BlueCo signs agreement to become new shareholders ↗Tier 1 · primary company
2023-06-22 — “Club statement confirming BlueCo (the consortium that purchased Chelsea FC in May 2022) as new majority shareholder; Marc Keller remains President with his current management team; no price disclosed.”
- Companies House — BLUECO 22 LIMITED (company no. 13949552) overview ↗Tier 1 · regulatory filing
n.d. — “BLUECO 22 LIMITED, incorporated 2 March 2022, registered office Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London SW6 1HS — the UK holding vehicle for the Boehly/Clearlake Chelsea ownership group.”
- Sportcal — Deal focus: Chelsea owners begin multi-club journey with Strasbourg ↗Tier 3 · specialist media
2023-06-23 — “BlueCo is paying €75 million ($81 million) for close to 100% ownership of RC Strasbourg; Marc Keller, who previously held a 27% stake, stays on as president; deal confirmed 22 June 2023.”
- teamfootball.fr — Rachat RC Strasbourg: les détails du deal BlueCo-Marc Keller enfin révélés ↗Tier 4 · specialist media
2023-10-02 · fr — “Citing Sportune, reports actual purchase price was closer to €45m rather than the initially reported €75m; stake acquired 99.7%; Keller retained ~0.3%; club share capital raised from €335,500 to €1,334,000.”
- rue89strasbourg.com — En déficit chaque saison, le Racing club de Strasbourg embrasse le foot-business ↗Tier 5 · local media
2024-01-01 · fr — “2022/23 season revenue breakdown: TV rights €18m, sponsorship €15m, matchday €8m, other commercial ~€20m, total ~€62m; notes structural deficit pre-BlueCo forced player sales to balance books.”
- Yahoo Sports — Who are BlueCo? Chelsea ownership under Todd Boehly explained, why Strasbourg fans are angry ↗Tier 5 · general media
n.d. — “Describes BlueCo consortium (Boehly, Clearlake's Eghbali, Mark Walter, Hansjörg Wyss) owning both Chelsea and Strasbourg; Strasbourg ultras protested multi-club model as 'destructive logic' turning the club into an interchangeable part of a global portfolio; notes FIFA does not scrutinize fair-market-value transfers within multi-club structures while the Premier League does.”
- Football Benchmark — BlueCo's Strasbourg project: Investing to build a competitive force in a fragile Ligue 1 ↗Tier 4 · specialist media
n.d. — “Between 2022/23 and 2023/24 revenues stayed roughly stable while costs rose 24%, producing a €14.2m post-tax loss in 2023/24; squad market value rose 216% (€85.5m to €270.2m) post-acquisition; ten Chelsea players moved to Strasbourg (7 loans, 2 permanent) after the takeover.”
- BlueCoXtra (Substack) — 18 Months After Acquisition of Racing Strasbourg: BlueCo Continues the Revolution ↗Tier 5 · specialist media
n.d. — “Reports BlueCo/BlueCo Alsace provided ~€39.5m in direct advances/equity changes over 18 months plus ~€125m on transfers across three windows; Keller became Chairman of the Board of BlueCo Alsace; local entity BlueCo Alsace relocated from Paris to Strasbourg in June 2024.”
- L'Équipe (@lequipe) — X/Twitter post announcing the deal ↗Tier 3 · general media
2023-06-22 · fr — “"Patron de Strasbourg depuis 2012, Marc Keller a trouvé un accord avec le consortium américain BlueCo, qui devient seul propriétaire du RCSA. Celui qui reste à la présidence du club explique que cela doit permettre au Racing de continuer sa progression."”
- LFP/DNCG — Individual club accounts, 2022/2023 season (EN edition) ↗Tier 1 · league body accounts
2024-04-25 — “RC STRASBOURG ALSACE — SAS + ASSOCIATION — Broadcasting rights 17 902 / Sponsors-Advertising 15 224 / Gate receipts 8 315 / Other income 20 622 / TOTAL NON-TRANSFER EARNINGS 62 063 / Total payroll 45 083 / OPERATING RESULT (LOSS) -14 059 / PROFIT (LOSS) FROM TRANSFERS 13 543 / NET PROFIT (LOSS) -3 000 / Net equity 7 063 / Financial debts 9 154 / Cash 6 974 (K€, 2022-2023 season)”
- Sportune (20 Minutes) — Le RC Strasbourg termine son exercice 2023 dans le rouge, malgré le mercato ↗Tier 2 · specialist media
2024-04-25 · fr — “'le chiffre d'affaires de l'opérationnel (hors trading) a lui aussi progressé de 57,5 millions à 62,1 millions d'euros ... déficit de 3 millions d'euros net, d'après ... la DNCG ... masse salariale ... de 37 millions d'euros en 2022 à 45 millions d'euros'”
- LFP/DNCG — Comptes individuels des clubs, saison 2021/2022 (RC Strasbourg Alsace bilan cumulé) ↗Tier 2 · league body accounts
2023-04-21 · fr — “RC STRASBOURG ALSACE — SAS + ASSOCIATION — TOTAL PRODUITS HORS MUTATION 57 472 / RÉSULTAT NET 2 102 — BILAN CUMULÉ (K€): Créances sur mutations de joueurs 5 175 / Disponibilités et V.M.P. 19 046 / Situation nette 10 063 / Comptes courants d'actionnaires 0 / Dettes financières 12 140 / Dettes sur mutations de joueurs 10 024. (Mirror of the LFP publication 'Comptes individuels des clubs 2021/22'; the lfp.fr URL currently returns an HTML page instead of the PDF.)”
- LFP/DNCG — Individual club accounts 2022/2023 (RC Strasbourg Alsace balance sheet) ↗Tier 2 · league body accounts
2024-04-01 — “RC STRASBOURG ALSACE — SAS + ASSOCIATION — BALANCE SHEET (K€): Intangible assets: transfer fees 11 804 / Receivables on player transfers 7 740 / Cash and marketable securities 6 974 / TOTAL ASSETS 40 153 / Net equity 7 063 / Shareholder current accounts 0 / Provisions 3 318 / Financial debts 9 154 / Debts on player transfers 4 107 / Other debts 16 510 / NET PROFIT (LOSS) -3 000”