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Barnsley takeover completed

Barnsley FC have agreed to a takeover by a duo of investment groups. The deal is headed up by NewCity Capital led by Chinese billionaire Chien Lee and Pacific Media Group led by Paul Conway and Grace Hung. It involves Billy Beane, the US baseball executive behind the stats-heavy 'Moneyball' approach to sporting success.

He is understood to be taking a 10 per cent stake in the club. He was attracted to Barnsley as they are already using a version of the data-driven methodology that he pioneered in Major League Baseball with Oakland Athletics. He believes that the modest price for a Championship club represents a good investment.

Neerav Parekh, a Mumbai-based technology entrepreneur, is another investor.

The sale is believed to have been somewhere in the range £10m-£20m, although some sources use the higher figure.

Chien Lee and Pacific Media Group led a group which purchased 80 per cent of OGC Nice in June 2016.

The consortium have been trying to break into the English football market for some time, with a failed bid for Middlesbrough following talks with other Championship clubs including Brentford.

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