RedBird have completed the acquisition of Italian champions, AC Milan from Elliott Management, a rival group in the United States, for 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion).
Milan won their first league title in 11 years last season, through their owners Yankee Global Enterprises.
A source told AFP that the U.S. investment fund, RedBird have acquired over 99.9 percent of the club’s shares while Elliott will have two places on the club’s board even though they no longer retain any shares in Milan.
AFP were also told that Elliott’s “minority financial interest” in Milan announced in June comes in the form of a vendor loan to help finance the acquisition, while the Yankees will have an “insignificant” stake in Milan.
Serie A outfit Milan said in their statement that Major League Baseball giants the New York Yankees will also have a “minority equity stake” in Milan.
“We will support our talented players, coaches and staff to deliver success on the pitch,” said RedBird’s founder Gerry Cardinale in the statement.
“We will look to leverage our global sports and media network, our analytics expertise, our track record in sports stadium developments and hospitality to deliver one goal — maintaining Milan’s place at the summit of European and world football.”
Redbird’s purchase of Milan comes after they bought a minority stake last year in Fenway Sports Group, the owners of Liverpool and MLB team Boston Red Sox, and a majority stake in French Ligue 1 club Toulouse in 2020.
Elliott acquired Milan in 2018 when Chinese businessman Li Yonghong was unable to repay a loan he had taken out when he bought the club from Silvio Berlusconi’s Fininvest in 2017.
Italy’s former prime minister Berlusconi had owned the club since 1986 and in the intervening three decades had made Milan a global football powerhouse, crowned European champions five times between 1989 and 2007.
Milan had been dogged by financial problems and sub-standard performances on the pitch after winning the league in 2011, a second-place finish in 2021 announcing their return as a challenger for trophies.
The takeover comes in a crucial period for Milan, who along with their local rivals Inter are hoping to build a new stadium on the site of their iconic San Siro home.
However the project hangs in the balance as the city of Milan needs to hold a public debate this autumn to convince residents of the project’s merits.