A major Chinese insurance tycoon has taken the reins at one of England’s most well-known football clubs.
China’s Guo Guangchang, known as the Warren Buffet of China, has taken the helm at Wolverhampton Wanderers and vowed to take them back to the Premier League and keep them there after his Fosun Group agreed to a £45 million deal for the Championship side.
Speaking to the
Financial Times, Jeff Shi, the executive leading the Fosun deal, commented that: “we will do our very best to help take Wolves back to the Premier League as soon as possible.”
Guo is not the first Chinese tycoon to take the hotseat at an English club – indeed he is not the only representative in the Midlands, with Tony Xia buying out Aston Villa in May. Meanwhile, in the Premier League, CMC Capital Partners, led by Li Ruigang, has a 13% stake in Manchester City.
Guo has made his money from insurance group cash flows. However, the purchase of Wolves seems slightly off track with his usual deals as he is noted for picking up glamorous brands including Cirque du Soleil and Club Med. He was also the subject of a corruption probe several years ago.
Football-focused acquisitions are seen as part of a general buying spree from Chinese companies – they have spent more than $100 billion during the first quarter of this year on overseas deals.
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