A consortium led by Chinese-American investor Chien Lee, who owns French football club Nice, is in talks to buy a stake in League Championship side Brentford in what would be the "latest China-linked investment" in a European football team, according to Ben Bland of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Lee previously tried to buy Premier League clubs Hull City and Middlesbrough. His consortium is in talks with the owner of Brentford, "gambling tycoon and life-long fan" Matthew Benham, about acquiring a possible 50% stake in the west London club, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. The two parties have discussed a sale price in the region of £25M-£30M ($31.3M-$37.5M), which would give the club an equity valuation of £50M-£60M ($62.6M-$75.1M). But the sources warned that the discussions were "still at an early stage" and that a deal with Benham, who has "championed the use of data" to recruit players and improve team performance, "may not be completed." Lee is based in the U.S. but was a co-founder of the Plateno group, which runs budget hotels in China, alongside Alex Zheng, a Chinese entrepreneur who is also a member of the consortium that acquired 80% of Nice last year. One person familiar with the Brentford negotiations said that if he invested in the club, Lee "could bring in Chinese commercial partners who would be attracted by the club's location in London, close to Heathrow airport, and its development plans" (FT, 4/13).
