Lorient, France (AP) – Lorient’s president wants to split the club’s shares into Black Knight Football Club Group (BKFC), making the group the sole shareholder of the French league team.
In an interview published on the club’s website on Sunday, Loïc Ferry said BKFC will take on a bigger role.
The Black Knight Consortium, led by American businessman Bill Foley, who owns the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, acquired a minority stake in Lorient in January 2023 as part of a multi-club ownership strategy.
In addition to Bournemouth, BKFC also owns Portugal’s Moreirense FC and New Zealand’s Auckland FC. One of Bournemouth’s key players this season is forward Eli Junior Crupi. A product of Lorient’s youth system, the 19-year-old Frenchman played a key role in helping Lorient return to Ligue 1, before linking up with his new team-mates.
Lorient, which celebrates its 100th anniversary next year, returned to France’s top flight this season after winning the Ligue 2 title and securing immediate promotion from relegation.
“I want to be well-equipped to face this hyper-competitive environment. I therefore want to take the next step in my partnership with the BKFC Group by becoming one of its major shareholders next to majority owner Bill Foley and merging my shares in FC Lorient into the BKFC Group, which will then become the club’s sole shareholder,” Ferry said.
At a time when domestic television rights revenues are declining, Ferry said the move will strengthen the club’s development capabilities and “enables Lorient to build a strong foundation within the Group, which has a stake of more than $500 million, and join an international network of expertise consisting only of clubs with a strong identity.”
Mr Ferry said the new facility would have a positive economic impact on the city of Lorient and support the refurbishment of Le Moustoire Stadium. He declined to give a timeline for completion, but said he was confident “we can complete this evolution as quickly as possible.”
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