Marseille have granted U.S. businessman Frank H McCourt Jr. exclusivity in negotiations to complete a takeover.
The French club confirmed the news on Monday after multiple media reports said McCourt, a former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, was in Marseille to meet with current owner Margarita-Louis Dreyfus.
McCourt, who bought the operating rights to the LA Marathon in 2008, is hoping to seal the takeover of the nine-time Ligue 1 champions by the end of the year.
"Being a part of Olympique de Marseille and helping the club achieve success both on and off the pitch would be an honor and privilege for me and my family," McCourt said in a statement published on the Marseille website.
He said Marseille was one of the "oldest and most respected" football clubs in the world as well as an iconic brand and pointed out that they are the only French side to have won the Champions League.
Exclusivity reached between Margarita Louis-Dreyfus and Frank McCourt
Official Statement: https://t.co/DtXkRzstci pic.twitter.com/zSFfgGJQkR
- Olympique Marseille (@OM_English) August 29, 2016
McCourt added: "As the steward of OM, my ambition would be to help return the club to championship form, to deliver the best fan experience in all of football, to strengthen the club's ties with supporters and the city of Marseille, and to guide the club to long-term financial stability."
Both parties were said to be meeting Marseille mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin late on Monday afternoon to inform him of plans for the club.
It had previously been reported that Luxembourg businessman Gerard Lopez and American investment fund Guggenheim Partners were the two frontrunners for a takeover. Last week Lopez, a former owner of the Lotus Formula 1 team, took the unusual step of rejecting claims that he had agreed a deal.
His statement came shortly after Louis-Dreyfus had issued a strongly worded release that condemned the speculation as "fanciful" and as "false and unverified information."
Louis-Dreyfus, who took charge of Marseille after her husband Robert died of leukaemia in 2009, announced in April that she was putting the club up for sale.
Later on Monday, she acknowledged the McCourt candidacy and issued the following statement.
"Today, Olympique de Marseille turns a page in its history. A new owner who would care for our fantastic club has been chosen among many candidates, in a long and diligent process run with the excellent support of Rothschild and Clifford Chance. I am sure that Frank McCourt will be the best choice to succeed my family and to ensure a great future for OM.
"In a few months, it will be 20 years since Robert decided to take responsibility for OM. All these years, in good and bad times, our love for OM was the sole driving force for my family to support the club as much as we could.
"I know that our efforts may not always have been enough to assure success and I am sorry for that. Now, a new era begins. To maintain an emotional connection between OM and my family, I would stay with the club and continue to support it as a small minority shareholder.
"Today, my sons and I wish from the bottom of our hearts great success and many victories to the best football club in the world, to Olympique de Marseille! Vive l'OM!"
Last season, Marseille flirted with relegation before eventually finishing 13th. They have taken four points from their opening three league matches of the new campaign.