Italian financial newspaper Milano Finanza reported this week that a Chinese billionaire has expressed interest in purchasing one or more of cycling's Grand Tours.
According to the newspaper, Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin and his Wanda Sports group is considering purchasing the Amaury Sports Organisation (ASO) and RCS Sport (RCS) and so take over the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.
Business magazine Forbes estimates that Wang is the richest man in China with an estimated fortune of 29.5 billion dollars.
In addition to many other business interests, he owns a 20% stake in Spain’s Atlético Madrid football team. Earlier this year he purchased InFront Sports & Media and recently bought WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) for $650 million.
Following that acquisition the Wanda Sports group was launched last month and it has plans for more mergers and to continue adding new content to its sports branch.
In addition to this potential entry into the cycling world, Wang has also reportedly set his sights on some winter sports.
Source: cyclingtips
Proofread by John Devlin