RedBird Capital Partners completes acquisition of AC Milan

RedBird Capital Partners has completed the acquisition of Associazione Calcio Milan (AC Milan) for €1.2 billion. 

For one hundred and twenty three years AC Milan has been synonymous with championship level football. Since its founding in 1899, AC Milan has won 19 Serie A Championships, 7 Champions Leagues/European Cups, 7 Supercoppa Italianas, 5 Coppa Italias, 5 European Super Cups, 3 Intercontinental Cups, 2 European Cup Winners’ Cups, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.

As the new owner of AC Milan, RedBird will continue to invest in all the key areas that will advance the Club’s sporting and commercial interests, building on last season’s achievements that culminated in the club’s Serie A championship. RedBird’s experience in operating and building global sports businesses will ensure that the next chapter in AC Milan’s storied history will build on its current momentum.

Priority areas of focus include supporting the club’s sporting and business leadership to ensure that the team is consistently competitive at the highest levels of football; ensuring that it has the infrastructure and facilities befitting one of the world’s most prominent sporting organisations; and strengthening the Club’s women’s and youth teams, as well as its charitable arm, Fondazione Milan.

Clear vision

Gerry Cardinale, RedBird Founder and Managing Partner, said:

Our vision for Milan is clear: we will support our talented players, coaches and staff to deliver success on the pitch and allow our fans to share in the extraordinary experiences of this historic club. We will look to leverage our global sports and media network, our analytics expertise, our track record in sports stadium developments and hospitality to deliver one goal – maintaining Milan’s place at the summit of European and world football.

ALSD International 2022 is taking place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, September 19-20, with 300+ attendees confirmed. The core focus of optimising revenue through New Builds, Renovations & Service Expansions, means that topics such as Architecture & Design, Fan Experience, Hospitality & Interiors, Premium Seating, Sustainability and Technology are among the key pillars.

The deal will also see Yankee Global Enterprises (YGE), owner of the New York Yankees, one of the world’s most valuable sports franchises, enter into a strategic partnership with the club with a minority equity stake in AC Milan. RedBird has a longstanding relationship with the Yankees and the Steinbrenner family, with whom it is a co-owner of the Yankees Entertainment Sports (YES) Network, the most-watched regional sports network in the United States.

On the partnership with YGE, Mr. Cardinale, said:

We have a multi-decade relationship with the New York Yankees and the Steinbrenner family that has resulted in the creation of some of the most successful businesses in sports, entertainment and hospitality. We are very pleased to continue our partnership with them and will look to explore opportunities together to broaden our fan reach and expand commercial opportunities that are only available to franchises that operate at the highest levels of sports globally.

The completion of the purchase of Milan takes RedBird’s assets under management to approximately $7.5 billion and adds AC Milan to RedBird’s portfolio of global sports and entertainment investments that include Fenway Sports Group (Liverpool FC, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins), Toulouse FC, the Rajasthan Royals, the YES Network, the SpringHill Company, Skydance Media, the XFL, OneTeam Partners and Dream Sports.

Source: AC Milan

Sports Venue Business organises and delivers ALSD International – EMEA’s leading event for the Premium Seat & Hospitality sector, with a focus on optimising revenue through New Builds, Renovations & Service Expansions – on behalf of the ALSD (Association of Luxury Suite Directors)…

…the 2022 event will feature a high-level conference, an exhibition showcasing industry-leading products & services, networking events and a behind-the-scenes tour of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, powered by THFC and Levy UK + Ireland, plus a networking app to ensure engagement pre and post event.

#ALSDInternational – Europe’s leading event for the Premium Seat & Sports Hospitality sector

#ALSD – Leading the Premium Seat sector for the last 30 years

#sportsvenuebusiness – The leading platform for sector news, views & developments