Former AC Milan owner Yonghong Li is trying to put a spanner in the works of Elliott Management as they look to sell the club for a big profit, a report claims.
According to what is being reported by La Repubblica (via SempreMilan.it), Yonghong Li – the owner of Milan in 2017-18 – sent a warning to Elliott Management back on April 26 and asked Investcorp for information on their potential takeover of the club.
Li has filed a lawsuit worth €319m (the capital gain Elliott stand to make from the sale) and while it has not received a response to date, the risk is that the Chinese entrepreneur may ask the court to invalidate the transfer of ownership in 2018, which happened because he defaulted on the repayment of loans used to buy the club.
The main node behind Li’s request is linked to the value of Milan in 2018 which was €740m – the figure of the Li-Fininvest agreement – but the valuation today is €1-1.2bn which is a huge difference.
The real risk is that it could put a spoke in the wheel of the negotiation still underway between the American fund Elliott and the two funds Investcorp and RedBird Capital, who are both interested in buying the Rossoneri.
However, what is most likely at the moment is that all parties agree to take on any legal disputes initiated by Li (including the prospective new owners) and in that case the negotiations over the sale can continue, with the Li issue to be tackled down the line.
