Lander Sports Development Scraps Plans To Buy Stake In EPL Side Southampton

Chinese consortium Lander Sports Development said on Monday that it "scrapped plans to buy a stake" in Premier League side Southampton, "blaming unspecified policy changes amid a crackdown by Beijing on overseas investments," according to the AFP. The acquisition would have made Southampton "the latest top-flight English club to gain Chinese investment." Lander Sports implied it was "having difficulties completing necessary procedures for the ­investments amid asset restructuring at the company." It gave no details, but talks over a reported £200M ($251.3M) investment had been ­"ongoing for months" (AFP, 4/17). REUTERS' Brenda Goh reported the company had earlier this year said that it "struck a deal" with Southampton Owner Katharina Liebherr, without disclosing the price. It was reported in March that Chinese buyers including materials company Amer Int'l and CITIC Securities "were preparing a rival bid" (REUTERS, 4/17).