AC Milan on Sale: Club in €1 Billion Talks
Serie A club AC Milan has gone through a number of takeovers since being sold by longterm owner Silvio Berlusconi in 2017. It looks like, despite a number of changes in the last few years, there is another new AC Milan takeover on the cards.
AC Milan : New ownersBahrain based alternative investment products company Investcorp is in talks to buy the historic Italian club.
Investcorp, along with Abu Dhabi based major shareholder Mubadala Investment Co is currently undergoing negotiations with the representatives of the current owners, Elliott Management Corp. Bloomberg states that the club has been valued to be worth €1 billion during the negotiations.
AC Milan’s Troubled Recent History
The club was sold to Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux, a Chinese association led by Li Yonghong by Silvio Berlusconi, for Euro 740 million after owning the club for around 30 years.
After buying the club, Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux went on a massive spending spree, acquiring Leonardo Bonucci, Franck Kessie, Andre Silva, Lucas Biglia, Hakan Calhanoglu, and six other big players. Out of the 11 acquisitions, only Franc Kessie is still a part of the club.
The new owners failed to give results to AC Milan, and Elliot Management Corp took over the club from Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux defaulted on its debt obligations.
Elliot Management did a fantastic job with AC Milan. They strongly invested in purchasing young players, including the likes of Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu, Sandro Tonali and Rafael Leao. The shrewd hiring by Elliot Management has put Milan back in the Champions League and the race for Scudetto.
It is a worrisome development for fans of AC Milan as Elliot Management has been successful with their handling of the club. However, Elliot Management bought the club with a specific monetary goal of raising the value of the club and then selling it. The goal of Investcorp, if they acquire AC Milan, would also be to increase the value and then sell at a profit.
Investcorp has increased the asset under its management fourfold since 2015. The positive for AC Milan would be a further increase in value as the club sees more success.