Chinese company completes acquisition of Italy's Parma

Jiang Lizhang,president of Desports.[File photo: thepaper.cn]

China's Desports has completed the acquisition of Italy's Parma Football Club, which currently plays in the Serie B league, reports thepaper.cn.

The club announced the news on its official website, saying it had received the last batch of money for the acquisition.

Desports, a subsidiary corporation of Wuhan DDMC Culture Co, will then hold a 60 percent stake in Parma.

A ceremony for the acquisition will be held on November 15, when the president of Desports, Jiang Lizhang, will become Parma's new board chairman.

Parma went broke in 2015 and was relegated to the fourth tier tournament in Italy, but the club is currently fourth placed in Serie B, preserving the hope of moving to Serie A.

This acquisition is part of DDMC's expansion into the sports industry.

[File photo: thepaper.cn]

In June 2016, the company became the biggest shareholder of Spain's Granada Club. In December that year, DDMC completed the acquisition of Chongqing Lifan Football Club, which plays in the Chinese Super League.

Jiang has also personally acquired a stake of about 5 percent in NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves in June 2016.