An investor group featuring ex-England player Eni Aluko is seeking to buy Women’s Championship club Lewes.
Mercury 13 is promising $100m (£79.1m) of investment across women’s football.
The group says it is in a period of exclusivity to buy a controlling stake in the club, which splits resources evenly across men’s and women’s teams.
Lewes “represent many core principles of how we believe a women’s club should be managed,” said the group’s leader Victoire Cogevina Reynal.
The East Sussex side finished ninth in the 12-club second tier last season and reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup, losing out to eventual runners-up Manchester United.
It is not yet clear what the effect would be on fan-owned Lewes Community Football Club, which owns Lewes FC Men and Lewes FC Women.
BBC Sport understands co-owners were informed on Thursday of a consultation process with an external party on a potential investment proposal.
The BBC has approached Lewes FC for comment.
Mercury 13 says it plans to acquire football clubs in Europe and South America not connected to the men’s game.
In a statement on Thursday, it also announced advanced negotiations to acquire top-tier clubs in Spain and Italy, with clubs in Argentina and Uruguay also on their radar.
Similar investment models have become increasingly common in men’s football, but are new to the women’s side of the game.
Joining former Aston Villa sporting director Aluko and sports entrepreneur Cogevina Reynal in its ranks is former Italy goalkeeper Arianna Criscione.
Ex-Fifa chief innovation officer Luis Vicente and Nancy Hensley, formerly chief of product and marketing at Stats Perform, are also involved.
