Documents emerged during an investigation into Milan confirm that Newcastle owners PIF were ready to become minority shareholders at the Stadio Meazza, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Milan’s offices were raided by the Italian Financial Police on Tuesday as the Prosecutor claims Elliott Management are still controlling the club despite the acquisition from Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird in the summer of 2022.
La Gazzetta dello Sport claims that a document that emerged during the investigation proves that PIF were ready to replace Elliott and become Milan’s minority shareholder.
A document called ‘Ac Milan Investor Presentation’ confirms what Il Sole 24 Ore reported last week: PIF were supposed to purchase 41.7% of Milan’s shares through the re-purchase of 80% of a $487.5m vendor loan.
The vendor loan is a €550m loan that RedBird received from Elliott when acquiring Milan in 2022. It was refundable in three years with a 7% interest rate. This means that Milan owner Gerry Cardinale must return to Elliott circa €665m, including interest, by the end of 2025.
Negotiations involving PIF are not part of the investigation, but, as Gazzetta explained, the stake Newcastle owners were supposed to acquire would have been converted into equity, making the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia the second shareholder of Milan.