Players of OGC Nice celebrate their 2-1 victory over Nimes during the French Ligue 1 match in Nimes, France, August 17, 2019. /VCG Photo
The French Competition and Markets Authority said it had cleared the takeover of the Ligue 1 club OGC Nice by Ineos, the energy group run by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, Reuters reports.
Ratcliffe, the founder and CEO of chemical giant Ineos, reportedly will pay 100 million euros (111 million U.S. dollars) to take over the club.
The Nice club, coached by former Arsenal and French World Cup winner Patrick Vieira, won the first two matches of the new season.
The British billionaire's offer made Nice the most expensive club in French football history, surpassing the Qatar Royal family's 79-million euros (88 million U.S. dollars) purchase of PSG in 2011. ESPN reported the bank transfer should be done by the end of the week.
Ratcliffe will attend the Mediterranean derby between Nice and Marseille in Ligue 1 on August 28 as Nice's new owner.
Ratcliffe, 66, ranks No. 110 in Forbes 2019 list of the richest people in the world, issued on March 5.
According to The Time's list, Ratcliffe is the third richest person in the UK with a fortune worth 18.15 billion British pounds (22 billion U.S. dollars).
Team Ineos' owner Jim Ratcliffe (C), coach David Brailsford (L) and athlete performance head Jim Kerrison ride to celebrate the team's victory during the Tour de France cycling match in Paris, France, July 28, 2019. /VCG Photo
Ratcliffe also bought Swiss second division football team Lausanne in 2017 and took over Britain's honorary cycling team, where he started by changing the brand from Team Sky to Team Ineos this year.
BBC reported last year that he also invested 110 million British pounds (133.4 million U.S. dollars) in the country's sailing team, called Ineos Team UK, aiming to bring the America's Cup sailing trophy to the UK.
Earlier this year, Ratcliffe talked about his football zest during an interview with BBC Sport. "We've dipped our toe in the water with football, it's a very different sport."
"It's quite a complicated sport and world, so we're in the process of learning. We haven't got to where we've got to in our chemicals and business world by being rash and impetuous and stupid, obviously.
"We're not in a desperate hurry to get to the end game in football," said the billionaire.