FC Nantes may be moving towards a change at the top. Waldemar Kita, the club’s owner since 2007, has three takeover approaches on his desk and is said to be more willing than before to consider a sale.
FC Nantes sale talks put Kita at the centre
Three separate groups are positioned to buy Nantes, with none of the proposed deals understood to involve a multi-club ownership model.
The interested parties include an investor from the Middle East, a United States investment fund and a French consortium. No valuation or timetable for a possible transaction has been disclosed.
The move
Kita has controlled FC Nantes for nearly two decades, but the prospect of a sale has returned with three potential buyers now identified. The French consortium is not believed to be connected to the Collectif Nantais project previously associated with former Nantes player Mickaël Landreau.
- Waldemar Kita — FC Nantes owner since 2007
- Mickaël Landreau — former Nantes figure involved in the earlier Collectif Nantais initiative
The Collectif Nantais brought together local business figures, former club members, supporters and elected representatives between 2021 and 2025. It initially raised €9 million while Kita was open to allowing a sponsor representative onto Nantes’ board of directors.
That initiative later shifted towards a full purchase of the club. It was subsequently put on hold after an €80 million bid was reportedly rejected in December 2023. Kita maintained that no such offer had reached him.
The French season around it
Nantes’ ownership question has long carried weight beyond the boardroom, given the club’s place in French football and its deep local identity. The current approaches come without a link to a wider multi-club network, while the earlier local takeover effort remains separate from the three bids now under consideration.
SEO title: FC Nantes owner Waldemar Kita receives three takeover offers
SEO description: FC Nantes owner Waldemar Kita has three potential buyers for the club, including Middle Eastern, American and French investment groups.
