SAINT-ETIENNE, France (AP) — Storied French soccer club Saint-Étienne said on Monday it was in exclusive talks for a sale to the owner of the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The full purchase of the 1976 European Cup finalist by Larry Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Group should be ratified within weeks, the club said in a statement four days before a key end-of-season game in its push to be promoted back to the top tier.

“I know what Saint-Étienne represents for its community and for French football,” Tanenbaum said in the statement, calling the club from central France “the beating heart of a city and its region.”

Saint-Étienne is a 10-time champion of France, though not since 1981, when its star player was French great Michel Platini. Its 41,000-seat stadium is one of the venues for the men’s and women’s soccer tournaments at the Paris Olympics.