The 22-year-old billionaire's son Kyril Louis-Dreyfus' interest in taking over Sunderland has been known before.
It was therefore no surprise that the club on Christmas Eve wrote on its website that the owner Stewart Donald has agreed with Louis-Dreyfus on a takeover.
Sunderland state that the deal can be completed when or if the English football league, EFL, approves it.
A decision is expected in mid-January at the earliest.
"From the first meetings with Kyril, his family and advisers, I have been very impressed by the knowledge and understanding they have accumulated over a long period of time as owners of major clubs in Belgium and France," Donald wrote on the website.
Son of French billionaire
Kyril Louis-Dreyfus is the son of the French billionaire Robert Louis-Dreyfus - himself the heir to the conglomerate Louis-Dreyfus Group - who died in 2009 and in addition to business leaders was the largest owner in French Olympique Marseille and co-owner of Belgian Standard Liège.
Sunderland AFC was formed in 1879 and has won the English Premier League six times.
Most recently, however, was the 1935-36 season.
The latest great success was the victory in the FA Cup in 1973.
In the spring of 2017, the club left the Premier League and the following year also the Championship.
The team is currently 11th in the third division, League One.
The club has received the most attention in recent years through the Netflix series "Sunderland 'til I die".
CLIP: Cavani lowered Olsen's Everton in the league cup (23 December 2020)
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United beat Robin Olsen's Everton in the league cup.
Photo: Bildbyrån / TT.