Chinese group Fosun completes takeover of Championship club Wolves
Fosun Group is the latest from East Asia to complete a full takeover of a prominent English club, purchasing Championship outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers on Thursday for a confidential fee that's reported to be £45 million.
The Chinese investment group already has business interests in the likes of Thomas Cook and Cirque du Soleil.
The sale was approved by the English Football League, paving the way for Steve Morgan - who has spent the past nine years as Wolves owner - to step down.
"It is the right time to be handing the baton on to someone else to take Wolves forward, and to that end I am delighted to have completed the transfer in ownership to Fosun International Group," Morgan said in an open letter on the club's official website.
Morgan also confirmed that Fosun will invest between £20 million and £30 million in the club over the next two years.
Wolves enjoyed a period of modest success under the 54-year-old Morgan's watch. The Wanderers won the Championship title in 2008-09, and achieved promotion to the Premier League for the first time in three decades.
But the West Midlands outfit fell back down to the second tier of English football in 2012 and subsequently tumbled to League One the following year. It managed to jump up to the Championship in 2014, but finished in 14th place last season.
Morgan, who bought Wolves for just £10 in 2007, put the club up for sale last September.
Despite initial reports that Chinese billionaire Robin Li had been fronting the takeover bid, it was Fosun that came to the fore. Founded in 1992, Fosun has several investments in the U.K. and across the globe, including pharmaceuticals and banking.
It also has links to super agent Jorge Mendes, who sold a minority share of his sports agency to Foyo Culture & Entertainment Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Fosun. The Telegraph's John Percy reports that Mendes - who counts none other than Cristiano Ronaldo among his clients - will have a hand in Wolves' recruitment policy.