 |
|
The AC Milan logo is pictured on a pennant in a soccer store in downtown Milan, Italy April 29, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]
|
The protracted purchase of AC Milan by a Chinese consortium was postponed yet again onMonday, although
a person familiar with the negotiations said the holdup was due to "littledetails" and the emblematic Italian club
should change hands by next week.
The deal－which will see 80 percent of the club signed over to an as yet unnamed collective ofChinese backers－was supposed to be finalized on June 20.
The deadline was shifted to June 30 as Silvio Berlusconi, whose Fininvest group owns AC Milan,recovered from
heart surgery performed on June 14, but that date flew by again with nothingfinalized.
On July 5, Berlusconi told Italian media he had accepted terms, before word came out onMonday that no signing
had taken place.
"There are only some little details of the contract the parties have to finalize," the person, whorequested anonymity,
told China Daily on Wednesday.
"If it's not done this week, it will certainly happen next week. There are no big problems, onlysome final technical
details to be resolved."
Under the deal, the remaining 20 percent of the club will be acquired over the next two yearswhile the initial majority
stake to be bought has risen from the 70 percent discussed in June. Asource told China Daily in early July the deal
values the club at between 700 million euros ($776million) and 750 million euros, including 200 million euros of debt.
Previous delays to the deal reportedly included the lack of disclosure of all investors involved inthe consortium, as well
as assurances that the new owners will invest heavily in player transfersover the coming seasons.
Berlusconi has since indicated he is satisfied on both counts, and the former Italian primeminister is set to stay on at
the club as an honorary president and informal adviser.
"Milan has now embarked on this path toward China," Berlusconi said July 5, according to theFinancial Times.
"I accepted what was offered to me, that does not even take into account the value of the brand.But I demanded the
commitment of the new owners, who are a group of leading Chinesecompanies, some also State owned, to pay at
least 400 million euros over the next two years."
Should the deal go through, AC Milan will join a long list of European soccer clubs that havereceived investment from
China in recent years. They include Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid,Espanyol, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Sochaux FC
and Slavia Prague.
HOME
CONTACT
中文
