China funding bid to buy Liverpool FC

China is funding a bid to buy Liverpool Football Club, as Beijing seeks to extend its rapidly growing global influence into the world of British sport, reports said Thursday.

China's overseas investment arm China Investment Corp (CIC) is providing funds for the bid fronted by businessman Kenny Huang to acquire the top sporting brand, reported Britain's The Times and Guardian newspapers.

The news is a dramatic twist in the saga of troubled Liverpool, whose American owners put the Premier League club up for sale in April, weighed down by more than 200 million pounds (318 million dollars) of debt. CIC's emergence as a bidder for Liverpool sets up a takeover battle, with the Chinese pitted against a private equity group and a wealthy Kuwaiti family for control of the club, according to The Times.

The Chinese sovereign wealth fund's bid values the club at between 300 million and 350 million pounds, said The Times, citing insiders.

LONDON, Thursday (AFP)