Gerry Cardinale has been looking for potential investors in AC Milan, and some more information has emerged regarding what his plans would be.
Over the last few days, numerous stories have emerged regarding Milan and the Middle East. Cardinale, the number one of RedBird Capital as well as the owner of Milan, travelled to Asia along with CEO Giorgio Furlani.
The pair were looking for individuals who may be interested in injecting liquidity into the parent companies of AC Milan SpA, for possible partners or associates who can bring important economic resources.
Calciomercato.com add that among the potential interested funds there is also Investcorp, a Bahraini entity who – before RedBird – had tried to acquire the full control of Milan from Elliott Management. The fund have had the chance to speak with Cardinale and there were several conversations between the two parties, which Investcorp did not deny.
Let’s start with the facts. First of all, Investcorp are a private equity fund, falling into the category of financial investments through which an entity provides new capital and, therefore, finances another company, through the purchase of shares and/or by subscribing to new shares, providing new capital inside.
Therefore it is normal that they are interested in purchasing or in the possibility of acquiring shares in other sports clubs. This way of acting falls perfectly within their statute.
Secondly, RedBird do not have any kind of imminent expiry – given that Elliott’s €600m loan expires in two years – but Cardinale’s modus operandi raises the possibility that he is looking for a way to reimburse (at least in part) Milan’s former owners.
Cardinale’s intention is not to immediately sell Milan. That day will come, but it is a medium/long-term project for the RedBird number one.