AC Milan have reportedly reached a preliminary agreement with a new Chinese consortium for the sale of the club in a deal worth €740m.
The club have released an official statement confirming the news, and it has been revealed that the new ownership group will wipe out the Rossoneri’s €220m debt as part of their overall valuation of the club.
Further, they have promised to invest €350m in the Serie A giants over the next three years as they acquire 99.93 per cent of the club.
The men behind the takeover have been named as Mr Han Li, representative of a group of Chinese investors, who operate through the management company Sino-Europe Sports Investment Changxing Co. Ltd.
It consists among others of Haixa Capital, the State Development & Investment Corporation, and Yohong Li, Chairman of the Management Company and main sponsor of the investor group and with whom Fininvest has been negotiating for some time.
It is added in the statement that the takeover will be completed by the end of 2016, although the buyers will be required to make a €100m deposit, of which €15m is payable on signing with a further €85m within 35 days of signing.
Should the preliminary agreement progress into a full sale of the club, it will mark the end of Berlusconi’s 30-year tenure at Milan and end months of frustration for supporters with constant delays with different groups over a possible sale.
With so much uncertainty over the ownership situation, coach Vincenzo Montella has been unable to act in the market so far this summer and has been forced to work with the same group that he inherited.
However, with the new deal in place and investment promised, the Italian tactician will now likely be given the green light to go out and sign players with just a few weeks remaining before the deadline.
Milan finished in seventh place in Serie A last season, thus missing out on European football again. Nevertheless, with a new coach and money to invest in the squad, they will be optimistic about what the future holds, provided that they don’t hit any further stumbling blocks with ht new investment group.