Ligue 1 side Lille is "preparing to sell" its 51% stake in Belgian Pro League side Mouscron-Péruwelz after two-and-a-half years as the club’s majority shareholder, according to 20 MINUTES. Lille is said to "have found a buyer for the club promoted to the top Belgian division this season." One investor from the UAE is preparing to buy the shares from Lille for €3M ($3.73M), the initial sum invested by the Lille club. While French newspaper La Voix du Nord reported that the sale will be effective in December, Lille "prefers to not make the news official yet." Lille General Manager Frédéric Paquet said, “There is a discussion that is relatively advanced, but to give a date … I do not know if it will be the end of the year, in two months or in four months. As long as discussions are ongoing, nothing is done.” Regardless, the sale "is imminent." In September, Belgian businessman Marc Coucke, who is the majority shareholder of Belgian Pro League side KV Ostende, bought a 5% share in Lille. Coucke has "expressed a desire to acquire more shares in Lille," but a conflict of interest exists. This sale would permit Coucke to "become more involved" in the French club (20 MINUTES, 11/25).
