RedBird Capital has surpassed Investcorp as the most likely new owners of Milan. The American conglomerate swooped in late, and Elliott considers their offer more convincing. Their CEO Gerry Cardinale is in town to try sealing the deal, Class CNBC informs.
According to IlSole24Ore, the closing should not be far as the recent talks have been productive. JP Morgan and Bofa Merril Lynch assisted the operation. It will not be an outright sale as the Singer fund will stay on board with a minority stake. It will be more of a partnership between the two United States-based consortiums. Instead, the Bahraini investors have suspended the negotiation after getting a negative response to their proposal.
RedBird Capital has given Milan a €1.8B evaluation and will pay €600M in equity at first. Elliott should contribute with sizeable financing that would be bought out over the years, allowing the buyers to eventually control the club almost entirely. The current powerbrokers sticking around will guarantee continuity within the team following the Scudetto.
President Paolo Scaroni discussed the future of the outfit to Radio Rai: “Investcorp has taken a step backward, while RedBird one forward. The figures that are circulating demonstrate our sports and financial success. Elliott eventually exiting Milan was always part of the plan. There is no room for old school patrons nowadays. We hope the takeover will be complete before the start of the transfer market.”
According to La Gazzetta della Sport, the parties are looking to finalize most of the process before the end of June. The whole management, including CEO Ivan Gazidis, is likely to stay at the helm. It would not have been the case if Investcorp had bought the side. Ultimately, Elliott wanted to keep being involved with Milan, and RedBird Capital will allow it.