RedBird Capital Soars to Front of AC Milan Sale

RedBird Capital appears to be outpacing Investcorp in the race to acquire AC Milan, which is one point away from its first Serie A title in 11 years.

Bloomberg reported that RedBird has reached a preliminary agreement on a deal worth around $1.4 billion with outgoing owner Elliott Management, and it could be announced as soon as next week.

Investcorp’s exclusive negotiation period with Elliott Management expired at the end of April, but the asset manager was still holding takeover discussions. On Friday, Reuters reported that Investcorp “couldn’t agree with them [Elliott] on the resolution of the matter” and put its plans on hold.

RedBird, which manages around $6 billion in assets, swooped in after Investcorp’s exclusive talks ended. Should a deal go through, AC Milan would strengthen RedBird’s already robust sports portfolio.

• RedBird purchased an 11% stake in Fenway Sports Group for around $750 million last year. 
• FSG, which also includes LeBron James as an owner, owns the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Liverpool FC.
• In 2020, RedBird purchased an 85% stake in Toulouse FC, which secured a promotion back to Ligue 1 from Ligue 2 last month.

Milan’s Management Moves

Elliott Management will continue to hold a minority stake in AC Milan. The fund manager took over the team in 2018 following financial challenges faced by former owner Yonghong Li.

Milan Reports noted RedBird would like to keep AC Milan’s directors, Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara. The deal is not locked in and could still be delayed.