RedBird Capital Partners are closing in on finalising a deal to purchase Italian giants AC Milan.
The New York-based private equity firm that owns 11 per cent of Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group have been in the running to takeover the Serie A champions since early May after the exclusivity period between current owners Elliott Management and Bahraini investment fund Investcorp ended without a deal being struck.
RedBird, founded by managing partner Gerry Cardinale in 2014, arrived into the process with a favourably structured deal that required less debt than the deal involving Investcorp, with Elliott Management chief Paul Singer a well known figure to Cardinale through the proximity in New York of the two head offices and their prominence in financial circles in the US.
Investcorp have been vocal in the media over the deal, something understood to have not been viewed favourably by Singer's firm, with RedBird having kept their counsel over the deal.
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On Thursday, in a post on social media, Investcorp executive chairman Mohammed Al Ardhi all but confirmed the exit of the Bahraini fund, with RedBird understood to be ready to close on a deal with a €1.3bn valuation, a figure that may yet rise.
Class CNBC, an Italian TV channel that operates as a localised version of CNBC Europe, an offshoot of the US CNBC network, have suggested that the deal, which will likely be north of the €1.2bn that was mooted early in the process due to factors such as AC Milan's Scudetto success this season and Chelsea's sale price of £2.5bn plus investment pledges into infrastructure, has moved forward to a position where it could close in a matter of weeks, ahead of the opening of transfer business for La Rossoneri.
Cardinale, it is understood, was set to head for Europe by the end of this week to resume further talks with Milan representatives and his own team, including one of the key men involved in RedBird's sporting investments, Alec Scheiner.
The ECHO understands that any deal struck would not impact the deal that RedBird have in place with Liverpool owners FSG, with RedBird committed to a long-term project with FSG that involves helping them grow the FSG empire, valued at around $10bn and that includes the Reds, the Boston Red Sox and more recently the Pittsburgh Penguins.
RedBird are 11 per cent stakeholders, the third largest, in FSG after the $750m deal secured in March of 2021. They have no influence in matters at Liverpool and take no part in the decision making process or have people at board level. The separation that exists means that they would not need to divest any interests in FSG as it does not contravene UEFA rules around club ownership.
RedBird has been seeking to add to its portfolio for some time having acquired French side Toulouse in the summer of 2020. Installing former Liverpool sporting director Damien Comolli as president, Toulouse relegated just prior to RedBird's arrival, won the Ligue 2 title this month to bring about a return to Ligue 1 football next season.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner, speaking exclusively to the ECHO earlier this week, expected the FSG/RedBird partnership to continue to deliver in the long term.
Werner said: "RedBird are a group of individuals that I have been aware of, friendly with and respectful of for two decades, and Gerry Cardinale, who is the managing partner, they do a number of projects in their own right apart from investing in Fenway Sports Group and we're going to be working on future projects together. They have been an excellent opportunity and have brought a number of ideas to us.
"We're indebted to them because we've recently acquired Springhill Entertainment with them, a company owned by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, and they're very wise in their own right. I don't know anything more than what is said in the newspapers, but I know they are looking at acquiring AC Milan. They are very keen on investing in sports."
According to reports in Italy, Elliott Management would retain a minority shareholding in the club should the deal get over the line, something that now looks increasingly likely.
