Kolkata football giants East Bengal have sold 70% stake in the club to Bengaluru-based Quess Corp Ltd, Livemint reported.

The development comes months after partners UB Group, which was previously owned by Vijay Mallya, ended their two-decade long association with the 98-year-old club.

The I-League outfit and Quess Corp will have four directors each on the board of a new Quess East Bengal FC Pvt Ltd, but team operations will be controlled by club officials.

“Now we can give finishing touches to our team and we don’t have to worry about money anymore,” East Bengal managing director Kalyan Majumdar was quoted as saying.

The deal is set to be ratified at the club’s annual general meeting scheduled to be held in September. The report stated that the deal was unanimously passed by the club’s executive committee despite the prospect of losing a majority stake.