AC Milan could change owner soon

Over the Easter weekend, rumors spread that AC Milan could be back on the market. In fact, news has leaked out that Gazidis has received an offer of those difficult to refuse from the Bahrain-based investment fund Investcorp, which could reach 1.1 billion dollars. A very important quotation achieved thanks to the management of the last few years by Elliott, who in five years has managed to put the club's accounts in order and relaunch the Rossoneri brand, transforming it into an attractive asset for large international investors. The negotiation was made official by the embassy of Bahrain in the UK through a post on social media that was later removed.

Investcorp is now conducting the due diligence required when dealing with deals of this nature and is expected to yield an answer by the end of the month. It has been rumored for a few months that the Bahrain group, chaired by Mohammed bin Mahfoudh Alardhi, was looking for a way to invest in sports and more generally in media and the Rossoneri club quickly became one of the main targets. For the Elliot fund and Gazidis it would be a great success, allowing them to realize a capital gain of around 400 million euros, given the mere three years it took to restructure the club in Via Turati. Milan could thus change ownership just as it is in the middle of the Scudetto struggle against its Nerazzurri cousins, a further boost to the interest of investors in the Milan team.

Now it will be up to Investcorp to complete the international relaunch, thanks to a project based on five key points: development of a global brand, creation of infrastructure, attention to the budget, synergies and political-institutional relations. Among these, the most pressing is certainly the knot around the new stadium owned by Milan and Inter, which every week lives a new chapter. The stadium project would pass into the hands of the Arab fund, which is also very active in the field of real estate and therefore could speed up a process that at the moment seems to be blocked. 

After having over the years acquired luxury brands such as Gucci or Tiffany, and then reselling them to the highest bidder, the Persian Gulf fund has turned its gaze towards the world of sport, and in particular soccer. This is a booming market that despite the many difficulties represents an excellent investment for foreign capital. In particular, Italian soccer, compared to the Spanish and English leagues, although for now with lower revenues, has easier entry costs and allows the acquisition of companies with a glorious history such as Milan. And also thanks to some specific measures, such as the Growth Decree, it is possible that in the next few years more and more entrepreneurs and investment funds will be able to enter Italian soccer.