Aga Khan buys Lagardere racehorse setup

PARIS, March 16 (AFP) – The Aga Khan Studs, owned by the billionaire spiritual leader of the world’s 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims, said Wednesday it had purchased the Lagardere family’s racehorse and breeding operations.

The amount of the transaction was not disclosed by either party, but sources in the industry put the total at between EUR 20 and 50 million (USD 26.8 to 67.1 million).

Aides to Arnaud Lagardere, son of long-time racing patron Jean-Luc Lagardere who died in March 2003, praised the deal, saying it would “ensure continuity in the breeding operation and protect jobs in the region.”

The Lagardere family, considered to have one of Europe’s most prestigious racing and breeding operations, owned two stud farms in France’s Normandy region, 62 brood mares and 74 horses in training.