The confirmation came indirectly and quite unexpectedly – via a tweet from the Bahrain embassy in London, which was quickly deleted – but the main point is not there. As reported by the daily L’Equipe, on April 15, the investment fund Investcorp entered into exclusive negotiations at the beginning of April with Elliott Management, owner of AC Milan since 2018, for the acquisition of the prestigious Lombard club, owned for more than three decades by former chairman of the board Silvio Berlusconi. The amount mentioned? 1.1 billion dollars (1 billion euros), which would constitute, by far, the highest transaction in the history of Calcio. If it goes to completion, the takeover will occur by the end of the season.
A newcomer to the world of football, Investcorp has plenty of resources for its ambitions. With 42 billion euros in assets, mainly in the luxury sector (shareholdings in Gucci, Tiffany or Leica), this fund established in the emirate of Bahrain but operating in thirteen countries seems able to meet the challenge of takeover of the most successful Italian club on the international scene, despite the catastrophic financial situation in which it has been immersed for years.
Admittedly, the 195 million euros in losses for the year 2020, largely caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, are only a memory. But the 2021 financial year still ended with a deficit of 98 million euros, to which 40 million must already be added for the first six months of 2022.
Despite these abysmal losses, which had to be compensated for, the club seems in better health than when it was taken over by Elliott in 2018. Indeed, its sporting situation has improved considerably. Five days before the end of the championship, AC Milan is at the top of the standings, two points ahead of its pursuer, Inter Milan (which has one game less). If the transaction is successful, the Elliott fund would carry out a magnificent financial operation: more than 400 million euros in capital gains. Wasn’t this, from the outset, his declared ambition?
The most effective of political springboards
The arrival of a fund from the Gulf in Calcio would constitute, for the Italian championship, a change of era. England experienced a similar phenomenon in 2008, with the takeover of Manchester City by a fund from Abu Dhabi, which resulted in propelling a club hitherto subscribed to supporting roles to the fore. In France, the takeover of Paris-Saint-Germain by QSI (a Qatari fund) in 2011 changed the face of Ligue 1, placing in a dominant position a club whose history had known many more lows What highs. There, it is of quite another thing that it is a question of. Because AC Milan did not need petrodollars to build up a considerable track record: with 18 national titles and above all seven Champions Leagues, it is second only to Real Madrid on the European scene.
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