Exclusive talks over AC Milan sale to start with Chinese consortium

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to open exclusive talks on Tuesday with a group of Chinese investors over the sale of the AC Milan football club, one of his most cherished assets, according to a source close to the matter.

10 May 2016, 2:51pm
by Staff Reporter

1 min read

Fininvest, the Berlusconi family holding company, called a board meeting on Tuesday to discuss the deal, the source said.

The group of Chinese investors, whose composition is still unclear, has valued the club at 700 million euros (551 million pounds), including debt, another source said last week.

The media mogul is under pressure to sell AC Milan. One of the top clubs in world football, it has failed to win any major silverware in the past five years and is now in the red.

In a video-message published on his Facebook page on Friday, Berlusconi said he had invested more than one billion euros in the club during his time in charge, including 152 million this past season, during which the club performed badly.

Last June, Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol failed to reach a deal to buy a majority stake in AC Milan as Berlusconi changed his mind at the last minute saying he did not want to sell more than 48 percent, a person who followed the negotiations said