Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi said on Monday that "he was not interested in selling control of AC Milan," following reports of an offer being made for the club by a Thai businessman, according to Dhanananphorn & Masoni of REUTERS. Earlier on Monday, southeast Asian private equity group Thai Prime Exec Dir Bee Taechaubol offered €1B ($1.14B) "for a controlling stake in AC Milan." The Bangkok Post said that Bee wanted at least a 50% stake in the seven-time European champions "but not complete ownership." The report said that Bee "was confident of completing a deal within a month." The businessman "could not immediately be reached for comment." Fininvest, the Berlusconi holding company that owns AC Milan, said in a statement that "there were no talks about selling the club, which Berlusconi has owned since the 1980s." The company said, "Fininvest reiterates it is not interested in selling a majority stake in AC Milan. Various parties have shown interest in a partnership involving Milan but, having said that, Fininvest categorically denies the existence of talks of any substance and of any pre-agreement or decisive meetings on the agenda." Despite the on-field issues, the club "was ranked the 10th richest in world football by Deloitte last month" with revenue of $250M for the '13-14 season (REUTERS, 2/16).
