RedBird Capital Partners, the private equity firm that owns 11 per cent of Liverpool FC owners Fenway Sports Group, have been linked with a takeover bid for Italian giants AC Milan.
Sky News reports that the New York-based fund, which has been a prolific investor in sport over the past two years, has approached the owners of AC Milan, Elliott Management, over taking their majority stake in the Serie A side.
RedBird, who paid $750m in March 2021 for their stake in FSG, are the majority owners of French side Toulouse. They achieved promotion last week and will return to the top tier of French football, Ligue 1, from next season, two years on from RedBird acquiring an 85 per cent stake in the club following relegation to Ligue 2.
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Sky sources claim that RedBird, who were erroneously linked with a Chelsea bid last month, are seeking to get a seat at the negotiating table for AC Milan after Investcorp, the Bahraini investment fund that had been aiming to acquire the club from Elliott Management, saw their period of exclusivity to strike a deal lapse, opening the door to other potential suitors to become involved in the process. Elliott Management have been looking to sell the Rossoneri since late last year.
Investcorp remain in the race to take the helm at AC Milan and have backing from another US investment fund, Ares Capital.
RedBird, founded and ran by financier Gerry Cardinale, have been one of the most active investors in sports over the past two years. Acquiring Toulouse in the summer of 2020, RedBird then clinched a deal with FSG for an 11 per cent stake in John Henry's empire that as well as Liverpool, includes the Boston Red Sox, the NESN TV cable channel and, more recently, the Pittsburgh Penguins ice hockey team. RedBird also took a stake in Indian Premier League cricket side Rajasthan Royals, while they are the key partners alongside actor Dwayne Johnson and his ex-wife and business partner Dany Garcia in resurrecting the XFL in America, a spring league that will fill the void left at the end of the NFL season and that will place a greater emphasis on entertainment value.
RedBird have also take a small stake in Spanish side Malaga with the view to potentially taking over, although that deal has been parked, the ECHO understands, while the legal row between the Al Thani family and Blue Bay Hotels, who were shareholders, is sorted in the Spanish courts. Malaga have been under the control of a court appointed administrator for the last two years.
Cardinale has been open about his desire for RedBird to expand their portfolio in football, with the private equity firm having looked at over 80 clubs before acquiring Toulouse in 2020.
The ECHO has reached out to RedBird for comment.
