Qatari fund interested in acquiring AC Milan club

A Qatari fund is reportedly interested in acquiring AC Milan club from Gerry Cardinale who is facing financial problems.

Exactly one year ago Elliott Management announced they had sold AC Milan club to RedBird Capital Partners for a figure of €1.2 Billion. It was an unexpected decision since Bahrain fund Investcorp were considered the frontrunners to acquire the historic Italian club. As part of the club sale Elliott would mantain a minority stake at AC Milan and also provide a €600 million vendor loan plus interest.

That last detail was crucial in Investcorp’s decision to withdraw their bid. The Bahrain fund wanted full control of the club and had no interest in receiving any loans from Elliott. Fast forward one year later and it looks like Gerry Cardinale is in trouble in repaying his loan to Elliott according to recent voices from the New York financial world.

Cardinale’s attempts to raise new funds have not proven successful so far with a mass funding campaign through small investors to pay part of the remaining €600 million (not the vendor loan) baring minimal fruits. Under current circumstances Cardinale could use AC Milan to extract money and repay Elliott.

Paying back the loan, reaching breakeven budget each year and investing on the marked to strengthen the squad seems like an impossible mission. Not to mention the possible financing of a new stadium. Such a situation reinforces the recent rumors that AC Milan might begin to sell some of their top players this year.

A Qatari fund is reportedly paying great attention to AC Milan’s situation. The fund in question is controlled by the family members of sheikh Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the probable new owner of Manchester United. The Al Thani family are looking to expand their football assets even outside England.

According to the reports the Qatari fund is considering presenting a bid of around €1.4 Billion to acquire AC Milan. It is unlikely that Gerry Cardinale accepts such a bid. An offer of this figure would would translate into a very little profit for Cardinale. However, it would give him the chance to get off his back the heavy burden of Elliott’s loans and other investors. As time goes by it is becoming increasingly obvious that Cardinale has acquired AC Milan with money he doesn’t have, pretty much like Yonghong Li did before him.

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