Financial football. Is Arnault kicking around an €890m deal for AC Milan?

AC Milan

September 17 – AC Milan are being linked with a takeover by the world’s second richest man, Bernard Arnault, though reports of a £890 million deal have been denied.

AC Milan are currently owned by US hedge fund Elliot Management who took control of the club after it was sold in 2016 by Silvio Berlusconi to Yhonhong Li for €740 million. Li lost control of the club to Elliott Management after Li’s failure to make a €32 million loan payment in 2017.

Elliott Management has said it is not looking to sell but reports in Rome say Arnault, who has made his money from fashion brand Louis Vuitton and also owns luxury champagne brand Dom Perignon as well as beauty firm Sephora, is putting together an enticing offer.

Elliot Management has taken the club out of the clutches of UEFA’s financial fair play investigative orbit and there are plans to build a new state-of-the-art arena. Arnault is worth an estimated £86 billion and is reportedly interested  in restoring Milan’s position as one of the world’s most successful clubs.

A  Louis Vuitton spokesman rubbished the claims published by Il Messaggero, saying the group led by the business magnate “firmly and officially denies reports that LVMH has presented to the Elliott Fund an offer to buy the football club of AC Milan.”

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