Cardinale loses biggest backer with AC Milan sale now more possible

Kaiser Permanente pulls out of their initial commitment to invest €200 million in AC Milan in planned partnership with Cardinale.

2023 ends with a victory for AC Milan but in reality there isn’t much to celebrate. In Serie A, the Rossoneri are clearly behind Inter and Juventus not only in the standings but also in terms of performance. Things went even worse in the Champions League. Milan exited the group stage and will continue to play in Europa League.

The situation hasn’t been positive on the club management and ownership as well. Gerry Cardinale finds himself in a difficult position unable to replay the €600 million loan plus interest he owes to Elliott Management. The situation for Cardinale and Redbird has deteriorated with Kaiser Permanente deciding to back down form their planned investment to AC Milan.

The American health care consortium has pledged to invest €200 million at AC Milan. The participation of Kaiser Permanente was announced last year when RedBird took over AC Milan. However, Kaiser Permanente will not be respecting the initial pact causing more headaches for Gerry Cardinale who is in desperate need of investments.

In fact, the exit of Kaiser Permanente is pushing Cardinale even more towards selling AC Milan club because he in this way will be losing his biggest backer. The American businessman is in contact with several Arabian investment funds, and not only, to sell a minority stake at AC Milan. There are several interested parties in acquiring Milan with PIF and Investcorp rumored to be the frontrunners.

One of the interested funds from the Middle Est is collaborating with Paolo Maldini and Leonardo to coordinate the takeover of AC Milan club. So far, Cardinale’s insistence to keep the control of the club and sell only a minority stake has proven to be a big obstacle for the American businessman

All interested funds want full control of the club and not a minority stake. Or enter with a minority stake and receive guarantees of a full takeover in the future. In addition, the fund represented by Maldini and Leonardo is also pushing to reach an agreement before the season is over so that the summer transfer campaign is conducted by the new owners and management.

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