Paris, April 17 (IANS): Chinese electrical company Tech Pro Technology Development can finalise the buying of French football club FC Sochaux in May.
Tech Pro Technology Development company, a Hong Kong-listed electrical components manufacturer, would pay seven million euros for the 87-year-old club. The deal could be finalised in May, reports Xinhua.
Tech Pro chairman Li Wing-Sang said he would not make too many changes to the club which was created by carmaker Peugeot for its workers.
"We don't want big changes. We want to support what works well, to conserve Sochaux's culture impact," he said on Thursday.
The team has spent a record 66 seasons in the French top league until they were relegated last year.
Sochaux president Laurent Pernet said that selling a club with such a stable ownership was a "first in Europe".
"The object of the management team now is to get through this transition so that the spirit and soul of the club change as little as possible and remains with its historic values," he said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Peugeot said investing in football will no longer be their interest. Peugeot still invest in auto racing and last year celebrated the 30th anniversary of their involvement in tennis, notably the French Open Grand Slam event.
Tech Pro's buying of Sochaux is riding the wave of Chinese capital flowing to top European football.
Early this month, Wanda Group became the official owner of a 20 per cent stake in Spanish La Liga champions Atletico Madrid. In February, Wanda acquired Swiss sports marketing company Infront Sports and Media in a deal valued at about 1.05 billion euros.
In January, China's United Vansen International Sports Corporation made it public that they had almost finalised the purchase of Dutch club ADO Den Haag.