May 15 (Bloomberg) -- William H.C. Chang, a part owner of baseball's San Francisco Giants, said he may buy soccer teams in Europe, where English Premiership clubs offer ``good value.''

Chang, chairman of San Mateo, California-based Westlake International Group, a closely held investment company that owns Major League Soccer's D.C. United, said he was in talks with two European teams. He declined to give details.

U.S. sports team owners including Malcolm Glazer and Tom Hicks have snapped up English clubs, seeking to tap the Premier League's status as the world's most-watched soccer competition. English champion Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa are American-owned, while Stan Kroenke has built a 12 percent stake in Arsenal.

``A lot of people have said the English Premier League has been fully valued but I think there's still a lot of value,'' Chang said in an interview yesterday in Beijing. ``There's also value in other leagues in Europe which haven't caught up with England.''

Chang said he may buy on his own, on behalf of D.C. United or for Westlake, while other partners may be involved. General Electric Co. said this week it may purchase at least one European team. Chang said he wasn't involved with GE.

Kroenke, who owns Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids, may make Arsenal the eighth Premiership team to be owned by foreign investors and the fourth to fall into U.S. hands. His Kroenke Sports Enterprises company never comments on speculation regarding its investments, spokesman Paul Andrews said. Arsenal Chairman Peter Hill-Wood said he's planning to meet Kroenke.

`More Opportunities'

Glazer owns Manchester United, Randy Lerner acquired Aston Villa and Liverpool was bought in February by Hicks and George Gillett.

``Americans are so much more advanced in terms of how they monetize sports marketing,'' Chang said on the fringes of the International Football Arena conference in Beijing. ``These guys who are very, very smart are going into Europe because they think they can develop more opportunities using those brands. We think we can do the same.''

Westlake has businesses in the U.S., China, Latin America, Japan, India and Canada, according to Chang's biography on the Major League Soccer Web site. Chang is on the Giants' executive committee and runs D.C. United.

More takeovers of European soccer teams will follow, according to Harry Philp, managing director of London-based Hermes Sports Partners, which is advising GE. Investors may turn to the second-tier English Championship as well as the Premier League, he said.

``We expect several more deals to come over the summer and more deals will be done in the higher echelons in the Championship as well,'' Philp said in a phone interview today. ``We still see the momentum in the U.K. We could see some movement in Europe as well.''

Chang said there was no timeframe for his possible purchases.

To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Clark in Beijing at gclark@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 15, 2007 12:19 EDT