Jack Ma Reportedly Looking to Purchase AC Milan Soccer Club

Jack Ma Reportedly Looking to Purchase AC Milan Soccer Club
Apr 29, 2016 By eChinacities.com

Alibaba’s Jack Ma is set to buy Italian football team AC Milan, according to Italy’s La Repubblica. The team is currently owned by Fininvest, a company controlled by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Fininvest owns a 99% controlling stake in the team.

Ma plans to purchase a 70% stake in the team, and then purchase the remaining 30% next year. He will reportedly pay 400 million Euros for the 70% share.

AC Milan reported losses of 91 million Euros in the 2014-15 season. The team is currently 250 million Euros in debt.

According to Forbes, Ma is worth $23 million. He currently holds a 40% stake in Chinese football club Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao is China’s first team to win the Asian Champions League twice—in both 2013 and 2015.

AC Milan did not manage to finish in the top ten of the Deloitte Money League this past season. The team finished the season with revenues of 199.1 million Euros, and was one of the only major European teams to see a decline in revenues last year. Not qualifying for any European competitions certainly did not help the team bring in more revenue.

Historically, the team was one of the top football clubs in Europe with 18 Series A titles and seven appearances in the Champions League. The team has declined in recent years due to lack of investment and is currently ranked sixth in Series A.

Alibaba has not confirmed rumors of its plan to purchase the team. Previous rumors that Baidu CEO Robin Li had planned to make an offer were also published by the Italian media.

Source: inews.qq.com

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Keywords: Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Jack Ma AC Milan

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