Chinese fund to take 20% stake in France's Olympique Lyonnais

Chinese investment fund IDG Capital Partners is to take a 20-percent stake in the holding group that owns French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais, the club said Friday.

The fund will pay 100 million euros ($112 million) for the stake, which will be used to help reduce debt, partly incurred from building a new stadium, it said. 

Under the deal, the OL brand will be promoted in the Chinese market.

The announcement marks the latest move in Europe's football sector by Chinese investors.

Other prominent purchases have been made at Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Slavia Prague. 

OL trace their local roots to 1899 but were established as a national club in 1950.

The club enjoyed great success during the first decade of the 21st century, winning the Ligue crown 1 seven times in succession and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2010.

They finished runners-up to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2015-16 season in France.