Wolverhampton Wanderers owners Fosun are reportedly set to add another team to their portfolio of clubs.
According to a report by the Guardian, the Chinese conglomerate is not done investing in European sports teams and are making fresh moves to add a few more clubs to its portfolio.
The report claims that the company’s representatives have contacted owners of Belgian side K.V. Oostende, Pacific Media Group, over the possibility of investing in the club currently fighting against relegation from the Belgian topflight.
PMG, owned by Chinese-American businessman Chien Lee and Paul Conway, has stakes in several other European clubs, including League One side Barnsley, Nancy in France and Kaiserslautern in Germany. However, they are believed to be open to selling their stake in Oostende, which they purchased in April 2020 from previous owner Marc Coucke.
Apart from Fosun and Wolves, Chelsea is another Premier League club looking to spread their tentacles around Europe. The Blues owners, who bought the club just under a year ago, have stepped up interest in buying a stake in French side Strasbourg after UEFA’s president, Aleksander Ceferin, opened the door to relaxing restrictions on clubs with the same owner playing in the same European competitions.
Newcastle United is also looking to spread its net. The club director Amanda Staveley recently suggested that the club’s owners want to add a club to their portfolio to “grow Newcastle and our brand.” Last week, she was reported by Bloomberg to have had talks with 777 Partners, which owns stakes in several clubs including Spanish La Liga side Sevilla and Belgian side Standard Liège, over a potential investment into the venture capital firm.
Football clubs with major stakes in other clubs include Manchester City, who own major shares in clubs in Australia, Spain, France, Asia, South America and the United States. Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Nottingham Forest, also has a major stake in Olympiakos, while the Pozzo family, owners of Watford, also own Serie A side Udinese.
