February 22 – The long awaited completion of the sale of Italy’s AC Milan to a group of Chinese investors looks now to be set for March 3.
The sale to investment vehicle Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing (SES), which is led by Haixa Capital and entrepreneur Yonghong Li, will be for a €740 million figure making it the most expensive Chinese football club acquisition in Europe to date.
That figure includes €220 million of debt. Sale talks have been on-going since the beginning of 2016 but faltered as the Chinese were delayed in getting authorisation for the acquisition from Beijing.
The Chinese buyers have twice put down non-refundable deposits of €100 million with deadlines for deal closure pushed out last December to February. Sources close to the club told Reuters said the deal would now be completed in March with the settlement payment of €320 million.
The new owners are also expected to make a further €100 million available for strengthening the team.
Owner Silvio Berlusconi at various times during the sale process has suggested that he was happy to retain the club and rebuild around its youth players, more recently suggested that he might retain a position in the ownership. It is understood that this will not happen and that he will exit the club ownership and management once the sale is completed.
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