RedBird have released a statement assuring they are ‘the controlling owner of AC Milan and will remain so’ after Italian financial police investigated the sale from Elliott Management.
The club’s offices were raided along with the home of CEO Giorgio Furlani as part of an investigation into the transfer of shares from Elliott Management to RedBird in August 2022.
The Italian prosecutor alleges that the sale was effectively only a ‘front’ and the controlling share of the Serie A club remains with the US trust fund.
“RedBird Fund IV and its subscribers own 99.93% of AC Milan; the remaining 0.07 is in the hands of individual Italian shareholders who are long-time fans of the Club [the APA],” read a statement.
“The idea that RedBird does not own or control AC Milan is absolutely false and is contradicted by all evidence and facts, including those that allegedly are the basis of the investigation.
“When we took control of the Club after the closing, Elliott provided a loan to RedBird with a three-year maturity and no voting rights. Our goal is to bring Milan back to the top of Serie A and European football – everything else takes away from achieving this goal.
“There are no ongoing discussions with any investor who could exercise control over the Club. RedBird is the controlling owner of AC Milan and will remain so.”
It comes after Elliott Management via their spokesman also released a statement denying the allegations from the Italian financial police.
“This allegation is false. AC Milan was sold to RedBird on 31st August 2022. As of that date, the Elliott funds have had no equity interest in, or control over, AC Milan.”
The complicated world of big finance in a sale that cost over 1 billion Euros will always involve various different companies that can be traced back to the parent company.
In this case, Elliott funds provided vendor financing to RedBird during the sale, which again is not entirely out of the ordinary in private equity transactions.
According to Sky Sport Italia and news agency ANSA, the claim from the prosecutor is that Elliott ‘simulated’ the sale of Milan to RedBird in order to also control Ligue 1 side Lille, who are both registered in UEFA competitions.
The prosecutor also suggests they are investigating the ‘inflated’ cost of the sale for 1.2 billion Euros, claiming the club was really worth closer to €700m.