Auxerre bought by Chinese group

by

Agence France-Presse

59m ago

@CoupedelaLigue / Twitter

Auxerre – Former French champion Auxerre officially became majority Chinese-owned on Thursday as ORG Packaging purchased a controlling share in the club.

On the pitch, Auxerre is a long way from its 1990s heyday under legendary coach Guy Roux, under whom it won the 1996 Ligue 1 title, as it currently sits second from bottom of Ligue 2.

ORG, a company specialising in food packaging, paid €7 million to buy a 60 percent share in Auxerre.

The other 40 percent remains in the hands of the AJA Football association.

Auxerre becomes the third French team to be taken over by Chinese investors following current Ligue 1 leaders Nice and Sochaux, who’s in Ligue 2.

Many other clubs around Europe are either majority or part owned by Chinese companies, such as Aston Villa (100 percent), Inter Milan (68.55), Atletico Madrid (20) and Manchester City (13).