Sunderland chairman Ellis Short has agreed to sell the club to a group led by Eastleigh F.C owner Stewart Donald.
The announcement comes just moments after the sacking of manager Chris Coleman.
Short has overseen back-to-back relegations at the club after they were guaranteed to finish bottom of the Championship this year.
He said: "It is no secret that I have been trying to sell Sunderland, but I have waited until the right group came along.
"Overall, my chairmanship has not gone the way I would have wished; the many high points of a decade in the Premier League have been overshadowed by the low points of the last two terrible seasons.