(Yicai) Aug. 18 -- Wanda Group has declined to comment on a media report that claimed the distressed Chinese conglomerate is planning to sell Infront Sports & Media, a Swiss media rights owner of the Olympic Games in Asia.

The Beijing-headquartered company said that "there is no official response to this matter," China Securities News reported today.

Four people familiar with the matter told Reuters that the property and entertainment giant is seeking to sell the sports marketing unit due to the parent's financial pressures, according to a report published yesterday.

Insiders said to Reuters that Wanda is in talks with Deutsche Bank to sell Infront. Private equity firms are interested in the owner of broadcast rights in 22 Asian countries for the Olympics from 2026 to 2032 but it could take several months to close the deal. The winner is likely to be a buyer with deep pockets due to the high minimum guarantees to secure sports rights, according to one of the insiders.

In 2015, Wanda partnered with three other investors to buy all of Infront's equity. Wanda gained a 68.2 percent stake in the manager of international media rights of the British Premier League by paying EUR1.05 billion (USD1.1 billion). Nine months later, Wanda launched Wanda Sports, a new division that integrated Infront with its other sports businesses.

Editor: Emmi Laine