The MP & Silva agency is set to be acquired by a Chinese group in a deal worth around $1.4bn (€1.24bn), according to La Repubblica.

The Italian newspaper did not reveal the identity of the group in question, but said it would acquire the entire business with an announcement set to be made this week.

The report comes after Chinese technology group Beijing Baofeng this month moved to deny claims that it had acquired MP & Silva.

In August, Andrea Radrizzani sold part of his shares to fellow MP & Silva co-founder Riccardo Silva as part of a restructuring process at the agency. The two businessmen co-founded MP & Silva in 2004, but speculation had been rife for more than a year that Radrizzani (left of picture) was going to split from Silva (right of picture) and launch his own business.

That developed with the formation of international sports broadcaster Eleven Sports Network, which Radrizzani leads. Following the restructuring, Silva is president and majority shareholder of the MP & Silva Group, while Radrizzani remains a shareholder through his holding of investments, without being involved in management and operations.