Two sources close to the matter said that AC Milan Owner Silvio Berlusconi will hold talks with Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol to discuss the sale of a stake in the Serie A club, according to Biondi & Webb of REUTERS. A source said that the meeting "may not be decisive but would be 'certainly very important.'" A report in Italian financial daily Sole 24 Ore on Wednesday said Bee, who traveled to Italy earlier this week, planned to present a €500M ($555M) offer for a 51% stake in AC Milan. The Thai businessman is part of a consortium that "includes other investors from China and the United Arab Emirates." A source close to Bee confirmed Wednesday's meeting "without elaborating." The club, which has debts of about €250M ($278M), is owned by Berlusconi through his Fininvest holding company that also controls broadcaster Mediaset. The club lost €91.3M in '14. If a deal on selling AC Milan is reached, the club would follow its city rivals in "being bought by south-east Asian investors" after Indonesian tycoon Erick Thohir headed a group that acquired a 70% stake in Inter in '13 (REUTERS, 4/29). ESPN's Ben Gladwell reported AC Milan GM Adriano Galliani said that the club will "only be sold if the club will benefit from it." Completing a deal will end "almost three decades of Berlusconi ownership, but Galliani insists that will only happen if all of the boxes are ticked." Galliani said, "I can't talk about the sale. All that Berlusconi is interested in is the good of Milan. And if a sale does go through, which is still to be seen, then it will be for the good of Milan." Galliani could not "reveal any more since he, as well as all Milan employees and directors, are being governed by a pact of secrecy Berlusconi signed with a potential buyer," reported to be Bee. The Thai broker is "not the only person said to be interested in acquiring the Serie A club, however." Further consortiums from the Far East are "also reported to be keen and their interest may have been what prompted Taechaubol to make his trip to Milan this week, to complete a takeover as quickly as possible" (ESPN, 4/29).
GALLIANI EXPLAINS LOSS: FOOTBALL ITALIA reported Tuesday's shareholder's meeting was "very tense, as the Rossoneri approved the balance sheet" for '14 showing a loss of €91.3M. Galliani: "The loss is of €91.3 million, but with the usual criteria normally present the loss would have only been of €46.6 million. Two events contributed to the higher loss: the lack of Champions League football and the different fiscal accounts of Finivest (Berlusconi’s parent company) with AC Milan." Galliani tried to defend Berlusconi, who has recently "scaled back his investment and is in negotiations to sell Milan." Galliani: "If ever the club were sold, which is not at all certain, the Silvio
Berlusconi era will remain the most successful era ever of this club" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 4/28).
