AC Milan owner looking for new investors in the club, Italian paper says

ROME : U.S. investment firm RedBird Capital wants to sell a stake in AC Milan, the Italian soccer club it has owned since 2022, Italian daily La Repubblica reported on Friday, citing a financial document.

RedBird took over the club from U.S. fund Elliott in a 1.2 billion euro ($1.32 billion) buyout.

The deal was partly financed through a vendor loan from Elliott worth 560 million euros due next year, plus RedBird's investment of 681 million euros, according to La Repubblica.

RedBird is now looking to "rebalance its portfolio" by selling "up to 150 million euros of the initial invested capital of 681 million" at base cost, the newspaper said.

It cited a document for potential new investors prepared by U.S. investment firm Washington Harbour on behalf of RedBird, adding that the file "has been circulating in international financial circles since May".

A spokesperson for RedBird, however, told Reuters that Gerry Cardinale, the founder and managing partner of the fund, "does not know Washington Harbour and the document cited by the newspaper is not attributable to him".

Washington Harbour did not immediately reply to a Reuters request seeking comment over the press report.

($1 = 0.9067 euros)