Press release -
Yanmar Completes Acquisition of Almere City FC
Almere, the Netherlands (November 18, 2025) – Yanmar is pleased to announce that the professional football licensing committee of the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) has granted final approval for Yanmar’s acquisition of Almere City FC, a Dutch professional football club. With this approval, Yanmar has completed the takeover, first announced July 7, 2025, and is officially the 100% owner of Almere City FC, effective October 31, 2025.
This acquisition marks a new chapter in the long-standing relationship between Almere City FC and Yanmar, which has been the club’s stadium sponsor for the past decade. “With the licensing committee's final approval, the acquisition is now official,” said John Bes, CEO of Almere City FC. “This is a historic moment for our club. With Yanmar as our new owner and Kroonenberg Groep, the former owner, continuing as our main sponsor, we now have a solid foundation to realize our ambitions in the coming years. It confirms confidence in Almere City’s strategy and future.”
Yanmar is equally optimistic about the partnership’s next phase. “We are pleased that the licensing committee of the KNVB granted its final approval, thus making the transaction official,” said Samir Laoukili, CEO of Yanmar Europe B.V., Yanmar’s EMEA headquarters based in Almere, the Netherlands since 1989. “Almere City feels like a natural partner for us. Together, we aim to foster sustainable sporting and community growth. With our football experience, international expertise, and deep ties to the city of Almere, we are committed to strengthening the club. Football is our engine — the driving force that inspires our innovation — and we want to prove that with Almere City.”
Lesley Bamberger, CEO of Kroonenberg Groep, which owned Almere City FC from 2010 up to and including October 2025, said: “We are proud of the foundation built at Almere City in recent years and happy that Yanmar will now take it forward. We wish them every success. This acquisition marks the start of a new chapter for the club. As main sponsor, Kroonenberg Groep remains involved and looks to the future with confidence.”
Yanmar is known for its commitment to sports, particularly football. Since 1957, it has owned Cerezo Osaka, which competes in the J1 League, Japan’s top-tier football competition. With the takeover of Almere City FC, Yanmar now also owns the youngest professional football club in the Netherlands.
About Yanmar
With beginnings in Osaka, Japan, in 1912, Yanmar was the first ever to succeed in making a compact diesel engine of a practical size in 1933. A pioneer in diesel engine technology, Yanmar is a global innovator in a wide range of industrial equipment, from small and large engines, agricultural machinery and facilities, construction equipment, energy systems, marine, to machine tools and components — Yanmar’s global business operations span seven domains. Guided by its Brand Statement, “A Sustainable Future – New Value Through Technology,” Yanmar provides advanced solutions to the challenges customers face on land, at sea, and in the city, working towards realizing a sustainable future.
https://www.yanmar.com/global/about/
About Almere City FC
Almere City FC is a young, bold and ambitious professional football club from Almere, the fastest-growing city in the Netherlands. The club competes in professional football since 2005 and has played in the Eredivisie (the top-tier football competition in the Netherlands) during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons. This season, the club competes in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, the second-highest football league in the Netherlands. Almere City FC’s home ground is the Yanmar Stadium, located in Almere, the Netherlands.
About Kroonenberg Groep
Kroonenberg Groep is one of the Netherlands’ largest private real estate companies, with a strong focus on the Amsterdam metropolitan area. The company offers high-quality residential, commercial, and retail spaces and constantly aligns its property portfolio with changing market demands. Creativity and attention to detail go hand in hand with financial strength and decisiveness. Kroonenberg Groep aims to strike the right balance between real estate development, management, and return.
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