Three investors, including two based in the US, have agreed to buy Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), owner Canal Plus television said yesterday.
Private investment firm Colony Capital, investment bank Morgan Stanley and French private investment firm Butler Capital Partners will take control of the two-time French league champion, Canal Plus said.
Former PSG director Alain Cayzac will take over for president Pierre Blayau, it said.
No financial details of the deal were immediately released.
The deal had been rumored to be in the works. Canal Plus has owned PSG for 15 years but recently asked a London-based broker to find a buyer.
Le Parisien newspaper reported last week that Colony Capital and former Lille president Luc Dayan were expected to invest about 70 million euros (US$84 million) in the club and speculated that coach Guy Lacombe could be replaced at the end of the season.
Unpopular
Blayau has been unpopular with fans since firing coach Laurent Fournier in December.
Blayau was suspended for three months by a soccer ethics panel last week after a clash with rival Marseille over ticketing arrangements.
PSG, which was docked a point last week in the ticketing affair, is in eighth place with 50 points, five points off the third Champions League place with five games remaining. However, it has scored eight goals in its past three games.
Cayzac is a popular figure with fans. Last year he attempted a joint takeover bid with then president Francis Graille. The move was blocked by Canal Plus, and Graille was later fired.
Fraud
Graille is one of several former PSG figures being investigated for fraud and use of fraud involving player transfers to and from the club.
At the start of the season, Canal Plus had set PSG a goal of reaching the Champions League with at least a top-three finish. When Blayau fired Fournier, PSG was one point away from third place.
Although PSG still has an outside chance of reaching the UEFA Cup, it trails league leader Lyon by 25 points and has won only two away matches this season -- one of the poorest records in the league.
An ongoing and vicious hooligan problem between rival sets of PSG fans has also angered Canal Plus, which fears its image is being dented by being associated with the team.
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