Red Bird Capital, a private equity firm that owns a minority position in Liverpool FC, has reached an agreement to become the major shareholder of AC Milan, in what is expected to be the world’s second costliest football club acquisition.
Elliott Advisor, the club’s current owners, were interested in selling the club for the last several months and had previously encountered exclusive negotiations with another suitor, Investcorp.
The scenario involving Elliott and Investcorp prompted Red Bird to step in, and they are now anticipated to complete a €1.2 billion (£1.02 billion) buyout of the Serie A winners by September, as per a club statement.
Red Bird is founded by the former Goldman Sachs CEO Gerry Cardinale, and last year they paid $750 million for a 10% interest in Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group. Cardinale’s company purchased the Ligue 1 team, Toulouse, during the summertime of 2020 and also owns a 15% of the stakes in Rajasthan Royals (RR) of the Indian Premier League (IPL). They claim to be in charge of assets worth more than $5 billion.
Cardinale said, “We are honoured to be a part of AC Milan’s illustrious history and are excited to play a role in the club’s next chapter as it returns to its rightful place at the very top of Italian, European and world football.
“RedBird’s investment philosophy and track record in team ownership has shown that football clubs can be successful on the pitch and sustainable off it – we are looking forward to a long term partnership with the club, its management team and Milanisti around the world to keep propelling Milan in the years to come.”