Chinese company's deal with Sochaux could be completed in May

PARIS - Chinese company's deal to buy historic French football club FC Sochaux could be completed in May, according to a report on Thursday.

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 finalized in May, according to Agence France-Presse.

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 intact, at 100 percent," he told regional L'Est Republicain newspaper recently.

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 was quoted by AFP.

Meanwhile, Peugeot said 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 20% stake in Spanish La Liga champions Atletico Madrid. In February, Wanda acquired Swiss sports marketing company Infront Sports & 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 finished the purchase of Dutch club Alles Door Oefening Den Haag.