Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday opened exclusive talks with a group of Chinese investors about selling a majority stake in soccer club AC Milan, one of the media mogul’s most cherished assets.
Berlusconi’s family holding company Fininvest said it signed a memorandum with the Chinese consortium at a board meeting on Tuesday to “kick off in-depth negotiations.”
Fininvest gave no deadline, but a source close to the matter said that the talks would last one month and were non-binding.
“The Chinese are valuing the club at up to 750 million euros [US$855 million], including debt,” the source said.
Berlusconi, who has owned AC Milan for more than three decades, is looking to sell the club at one of the lowest points in its history, which dates back to 1899.
Second only to Real Madrid in the list of winners of Europe’s top club competition, AC Milan has failed to win any major silverware in the past five years and is lying a lowly seventh in Italy’s Serie A top division.
The club, which reported a loss of 93.5 million euros last year, needs an injection of capital to fund its business and put it on a par with the top European clubs, many now bankrolled by Gulf and Asian owners.
However, a deal to sell AC Milan is still far from certain as the 79-year-old four-time prime minister remains reluctant to loosen his grip over the club he calls “my Milan.”
Last year, talks with Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol to sell a majority stake foundered when Berlusconi changed his mind at the last minute, saying he did not want to sell more than 48 percent, a person who followed the talks said.
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