Pedro Rodriguez of F.C. Barcelona compete for the ball with Philippe Mexes of AC Milan ,
top, during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 in February 2013 in Milan.
A consortium including Chinese investors is close to a deal for Italian soccer club AC Milan, according to people close to the deal.
One person said the group would buy 80% of the club, whose total value the person said is about €750 million (around $827 million) including around €200 million in debt. That would mean the investors are spending around €440 million for the stake, which would be the biggest acquisition powered by Chinese money for control of a world-class soccer team.
The agreement, expected to be completed this month, also provides for the group to buy the remaining 20% and put in about €400 million of investments in the next two to three years, the person told.
Italian investor and sports-business consultant Nicolas Gancikoff has a leading role in the deal and is expected to become a top executive in the club once it is completed, according to people familiar with the talks.
The investor group includes Chinese investment firm GSR Capital, two people said. GSR’s chairman, Sonny Wu, helped Mr. Gancikoff line up Chinese investors for the deal, according to people familiar with the talks.
AC Milan, founded in 1899, has won 18 Italian Serie A league titles, and has the most UEFA Champions League trophies, seven, of any club except Real Madrid.
The deal is the latest example of Chinese investment in European soccer, a push encouraged by President Xi Jinping, who has repeatedly expressed his hope for China to one day win the World Cup.
Since Mr. Xi came to power in 2012, deep-pocketed Chinese businessmen have snapped up soccer-related companies and big-name players, often at prices well above the market.
In the past two months Chinese companies have taken over 100-year-old English soccer club Aston Villa, and AC Milan’s archenemy Inter Milan. Shanghai SIPG, a team backed by a state-owned enterprise, broke China’s Super League transfer record a few weeks ago by signing Brazilian striker Hulk for €55.8 million.
Chinese buyers have seized the opportunity of a slowing European economy.
“Italian soccer clubs now are cheap, and have a huge appreciation potential, so I think they make good overseas assets for acquisitions. I am glad to see Chinese businessmen, who are also soccer fans, buying these clubs and helping connect Chinese soccer with international soccer,” said Zhang Lu, a well-known sports commentator and vice president of Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan.
China’s state broadcaster China Central Television started broadcasting Italian soccer games in the late 1980s, AC Milan’s heyday, and the team quickly formed a huge fan base in China.
“I started watching AC Milan when I was 7 years old and soon became a die-hard fan of this team. I feel I grew up with this team and it has been part of my youth,” said Zhao Tianshu, a 32-year-old corporate lawyer in Beijing.
Wall Street Journal
Please
contact us in case of Copyright Infringement of the photo sourced from the internet, we will remove it within 24 hours.
京公网安备 11010502030596号
