A week after winning the scudetto, AC Milan seems to have made another big change. On Tuesday, private American investment company RedBird Capital signed a preliminary contract to buy a club. The company’s founder, Gerry Cardinale, will soon officially become the new owner of the club.
The official statement passed by the company
The official announcement was made Wednesday morning, stating: “RedBird Capital Partners (RedBird) and Elliott Advisors UK Limited (Elliott) are today RedBird’s Associazione Calcio Milan (AC Milan, Milan or Club), a newly crowned Serie A champion. The transition to new ownership will take place in the summer and is expected to be completed by September 2022.
“The deal, which values the club at €1.2B, will see Elliott retain a minority financial interest in the club and seats on the Board of Directors, solidifying a partnership between RedBird and Elliott that continues the progress made under Elliott’s stewardship over the last four years”.
It will still take a few weeks for the transaction to officially close. This will change the official ownership of the club. The current owner, Elliott Management Corporation, acquired AC Milan in the spring of 2018 after facing financial challenges that forced Chinese owner Yonghong Li to change control, this holds a minute stake for the club in terms of the proprietary rights.
RedBird founder and the company manager on this matter
RedBird Founder and Managing Partner Gerry Cardinale stated: “We are honored to be a part of AC Milan’s illustrious history and are excited to play a role in the Club’s next chapter as it returns to its rightful place at the very top of Italian, European and world football.”
“I want to thank Gordon Singer and the entire Elliott team for the tremendous work they have done over the last four years in rebuilding Milan and returning it to its rightful place at the top of Serie A.”
“RedBird’s investment philosophy and track record in team ownership have shown that football clubs can be successful on the pitch and sustainable off it – we are looking forward to a long term partnership with the club, its management team, and Milanisti around the world to keep propelling Milan in the years to come.”
The change of ownership raises the question of whether management groups, including Milan’s club legend Paolo Maldini, will remain in a decision-making position, or whether Red Bird will bring in its own management team.
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