After Bigetron and HavoK, the French esports club is said to be negotiating a takeover of an institution of French volleyball. An offer is expected within days.
Vitality could soon add a very unexpected string to its bow. According to information revealed by Le Parisien on August 26, the French group has been in talks since the spring with Paris Volley's shareholders with a view to becoming the club's majority shareholder. Discussions reportedly intensified over the summer, and a formal offer is said to be close to being tabled.
The Parisian club's management has spent months looking for new investors, so far without success. A source close to the matter quoted by the newspaper points to current shareholders no longer willing to carry on as things stand, and to a deal meant to bring the club back to the top of French and European volleyball.
A historic club in financial trouble
Paris Volley means nine French championship titles since 2000, a French Cup won last spring, 1,500 registered members and the distinction of being the first French club to win the Champions League, in 2001.
Saved from folding in 2018 by new investors, the club runs on a budget of around €1.2 million, has received only €525,000 of the roughly €700,000 in subsidies expected from the City of Paris, has reportedly not paid all of its players, and must present new financial guarantees to the DNACG in October.
