UEFA is looking into the murky ownership situation of Lille, as the Elliott fund, which controls Milan, might still be part of it in some shape or form. Their bylaws do not allow it, while both sides participated in the continental cup in the last two seasons.
According to L’Equipe, Elliott briefly took over from Gerard Lopez as the main creditor in December 2020. Then, it sold the stocks to Luxembourgian fund Merlyn Partners, which bought out the debt through the new company Callisto Sporting.
The firm contains shares called “A2”, whose value is merely legal and whose possession gives the right to veto. Birch International and Birch Associates are among those holding them, and they reside at the same address as Elliott in West Palm Beach in Delaware. Therefore, it would allegedly still influence Lille, on top of owning Milan, despite not having any official role in the French outfit. Moreover, Gordon Singer, the son of CEO Paul, has ties with Merlyn.
UEFA refused to comment on the situation: “We monitor every club that partakes in our competitions.” The two sides have orchestrated a few deals in the last few seasons. The Rossoneri acquired Mike Maignan and Rafael Leao and are currently pursuing Sven Botman and Renato Sanches.
Furthermore, the Middle-Eastern fund Investcorp has expressed interest in acquiring Milan and Lille, the French publication reports. It was established in Bahrain in 1982. It specializes in private equity and manages assets for €40B. According to Bloomberg, they are in talks to purchase the Rossoneri for €1.1B.