InvestCorp withdrew their offer to Elliott Management Corporation. They were understood to be gunning for a takeover of the AC Milan football club. The news was announced days ago by the executive chairman of the Bahrain-based investment fund, Mohammed Alardhi. RedBird, instead, are now in talks with Elliott in order to secure a deal wih the current owners very soon.
InvestCorp have looked for an Italian investor to back their bid in buying the club, as reported by Il Sole 24 Ore. It appears that they had found their man in Milan former owner and president Silvio Berlusconi. The same source shares a background on the the Arab fund's attempts: among the Italian businessmen contacted by the Arabs, Silvio Berlusconi was sounded out for the possiblity of entering the project as a minority shareholder. But, that idea has vanished, obviously, with the withdrawal of InvestCorp from the race.
Il Sole 24 Ore, however, claim that Berlusconi jokingly expressed a desire for a minority investment when he was joined by technical director Paolo Maldini, club presient Paolo Scaroni and Elliott owner Paul Singer during the Scudetto celebrations. However, it only remains a small chat and nothing more than that.
