Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers have been purchased by Chinese company Fosun International. Photos: Twitter

Wolves become the second English Championship side with Chinese owners as Fosun prepares to announce purchase

West midlands club is set to announce the HK$462.2 million takeover later on Thursday

Published: 4:31pm, 21 Jul 2016

Wolverhampton Wanderers became the second Chinese-owned English Championship football club on Thursday when they were purchased by Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International Limited for a reported £45 million (HK$462.2m).

The second-tier outfit follow in the footsteps of Midlands rivals Aston Villa, who were purchased by businessman Tony Xia Jiantong for HK$683.5m in May.

Wolves are located in the West Midlands of England and play their home games at Molineux.

Rumours had been circulating about the prospective Fosun purchase for the last two weeks, however, the club is expected to formally announce the deal later on Thursday.

New Aston Villa owner Tony Xia completes takeover after passing English Football League’s ‘fit and proper’ test

Wolves had been up for sale since September 2015 when the previous owner Steve Morgan announced he was looking to sell the Championship strugglers after eight years in charge.

Founder and chairman of Fosun International Group Guo Guangchang is known as the “Warren Buffet of China”.

Wolves were promoted to the Premier League in 2009 and spent three seasons in the top flight before they were relegated in 2012.

Is Xia Jiantong the man to save Aston Villa, or will fans be wishing Randy Lerner never left?

The following season they were relegated to the third tier, but bounced back the following season. They finished 14th in the Championship last season.

Post