Sources said that "Chinese dealmaker" Sonny Wu, whose business holdings span renewable energy and lighting, "is leading the proposed takeover" of Serie A side AC Milan, according to Browning & Panja of BLOOMBERG. The sources said that Wu’s private equity firm GSR Capital "is the main investor in the consortium that is in advanced talks to buy AC Milan from Silvio Berlusconi’s Fininvest SpA." The Chinese businessman, who led two failed attempts to buy Royal Philips NV assets in the last 18 months, is valuing the club at about €750M ($825M) including debt, one of the people said, "asking not to be named because the discussions are private." The sources said that Steven Zheng, a Chinese businessman with solar power interests, "is also part of the buyer group." One source said that the deal "will involve new sponsorship agreements with the seven-time European champion." Wu said that GSR Capital plans to meet with Berlusconi "to establish a partnership for global markets." A spokesperson for Fininvest said that he could not "immediately comment." The Chinese consortium "missed earlier targets to complete a deal with Berlusconi, hurting AC Milan’s chances of signing new players during the summer transfer season." The sources said that the investor group, which had initially discussed buying about 60% of AC Milan, now "plans to buy full control of the team" (BLOOMBERG, 7/20).
