There is now widespread speculation that AC Milan are close to being taken over by Investcorp, a Bahraini fund supported by Mubadala, a sovereign fund of the United Arab Emirates.
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MilanNews report that the negotiations between Milan and Investcorp over the transfer of majority shares is proceeding quickly, given that the parties have been discussing and exchanging documents for weeks. Law firms and advisors are involved in the bureaucratic part and Investcorp are happy to pay the €1bn asking price.
The first contacts between the parties started a month ago and due diligence was completed in the last few days. Compared to other activities, the Bahrain-based fund have expressed a willingness to buy Milan to pay their asking price.
Elliott deserve credit for their role in things too because they saved Milan from bankruptcy in the summer of 2018 and brought the accounts back to being stable, clearing debt and ultimately making the club very attractive to potential buyers.
The €1bn valuation of the club is the result of a series of objective parameters and is potentially also dictated by other transactions, such as the fact that 55% of Atalanta went to the American tycoon Pagliuca for €400m (therefore total valuation around €700m), so Milan cannot be worth less.
Another final point: Elliott will not sell Milan to anyone who are not interested in continuing the project that they have embarked on with CEO Ivan Gazidis, and rather the American fund will ensure the club ends up in serious hands, with important financial resources that lead to the further growth of the team towards the elite of Europe.
