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+--- Thread: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread (/showthread.php?tid=303)
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RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - reza - 04-08-2015
New message from Curva Sud urging fans to attend Sampdoria game but bring creative banners or even papers with the hashtag #saveacmilan. They put up some examples on their site http://curvasudmilano.it/
![[Image: WJ6BPKQl.png]](http://i.imgur.com/WJ6BPKQl.png)
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - ACMILAN1983 - 04-09-2015
What are they actually trying to achieve? I understand what they're saying, but is this to put pressure on Silvio to sell, is it to try and get him to invest?
Anyway, there's quite a bit of mixed news today, but thankfully a lot of it is already translated!!
Here's the latest on the stadium:
http://football-italia.net/64933/doubts-over-milan-stadium
I'm not too concerned about it at this point, as there seems to be real truth about the sale of the club, so I'm expecting the fallout from that to include plans regarding the stadium.
There's more here on Corriere Della Sera's report on the Bee and Richard Lee potential sales:
http://www.rossoneriblog.com/2015/04/09/two-groups-in-the-running-to-buy-milan-official-offers-to-arrive-in-may/?
Finally there might be a mysterious American fund which could invest for a minority share:
http://www.milannews.it/rassegna-stampa/corsport-cessione-milan-tra-i-cinesi-e-i-thailandesi-spunta-un-fondo-americano-173053
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - ACMILAN1983 - 04-09-2015
From Xinhua, apparently one of China's oldest news agencies, there's news about a sale, specifically on Richard Lee's (the businessman from Hong Kong) group of investors:
http://www.milannews.it/primo-piano/dalla-cina-ecco-chi-ce-dietro-la-cordata-cinese-che-vuole-comprare-il-milan-fu-yixiang-e-una-grande-opportunita-per-gli-investitori-cinesi-173087
Key points in bullet form:
- The investors are 4 Chinese companies and 1 Thai. The Chinese companies are Wanda Group, Wahaha, Huawei and AliBaba. The Thai group isn't revealed.
- The investors won't spend 1 billion for all of Milan, but rather intend to buy half and the rest would be bought through crowdfunding (where people spend 1,500 euros for a share).
- The Berlusconi family are split on selling Milan totally right now, with some saying it's a financial burden and others saying to wait to build the stadium as the club will be worth more.
If nothing else, I have to say the names apparently involved are pretty huge.
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - reza - 04-09-2015
Curious what the second point really means. If they means shares ala Spanish teams may be ok, but that's different than crowdfunding. Crowdfunding implies internet sale, etc.
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - ACMILAN1983 - 04-10-2015
Maldini has apparently met Bee and he would effectively replace Galliani in the club:
http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2015/04/maldini-contacted-about-directorial-role-at-ac-milan/?
I found this quote interesting..
Quote:According to Sky Sport, Taechaubol does not see himself and Galliani as compatible characters, which is why the businessman has already contacted former Milan captain Maldini about the possibility of taking over a directorial role in the club, an offer the former Italian international agreed to.
Today's Gazzetta also says that Berlusconi finds the Chinese group offer more appealing than Bee's.
http://www.milannews.it/rassegna-stampa/gazzetta-cessione-milan-berlusconi-colpito-piu-dal-progetto-cinese-che-da-quello-thailandese-173125
At this point it seems Bee's working towards acquiring the club, while the Chinese group are effectively trying to muscle in. Based on rumours, and as such probably completely wrong, I don't see either group showing any specific advantages. Bee's supposed proposal shows a more clear plan with the apparent structure he wants in the club, but no one has the slightest clue about the investors behind him other than possibly Doyen Sports. Likewise, the Chinese group have shown a hand by revealing their investors, but so far have suggested nothing as to what they might do.
This means little to nothing. A private deal of this sort isn't one to leak much in the way of details, the fact that so much is already being said is already surprising. In that respect, if Bee gains control I have little doubt he's got some big investors behind him. If Richard Lee succeeds, I would be pretty amazed if Maldini isn't brought on board anyway, as at the least it makes sense if only to endear yourselves to fans.
(04-09-2015, 05:39 PM)reza Wrote: Curious what the second point really means. If they means shares ala Spanish teams may be ok, but that's different than crowdfunding. Crowdfunding implies internet sale, etc.
Here's an English translation of what I posted:
http://www.rossoneriblog.com/2015/04/09/fu-yixiang-berlusconi-wants-to-sell-a-chinese-crowdfunding-move-is-under-way-to-buy-milan/?
Regarding crowdfunding, I think the wrong term was used. Crowdfunding doesn't necessarily mean shares are bought, but in the interview he clearly states shares would be bought at a cost of 1600 euros per share (I'm sure it said 1500 yesterday).
My reading of that means that it sounds like Chinese companies would buy 51-60% shares for a price of half a billion, while the rest of the shares would be owned by fans, private investors or members etc. It's kind of like the opposite of what happens in most of German football.
Clubs there have a 50+1 rule. Basically, people with membership with the club own shares in the club. These members must own at least 51% of the club shares, meaning clubs effectively belong to members (i.e. the fans). The rest of the shares can then be bought by 3rd part investors (i.e. major corporations). It's also notable that this structure means it's the members who effectively choose who runs the club.
In Milan, this scenario would mean the investors would own the majority shares, so would effectively make the big decisions for the club. Others, whether it be other companies or even fans (though at 1600 euros per share it's an expensive investment), would own shares in the club, but this wouldn't give them control over running the club.
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - reza - 04-10-2015
Thanks Dev.
If that happens and is possible we should look into buying 1 share, MM members collect enough for 1 share
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - Jay Crisp - 04-10-2015
I still think id buy a share at 1600..I mean I own part of Milan
...
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - ACMILAN1983 - 04-12-2015
Fu Yixiang has spoken more about Milan and the potential buyout from the Chinese consortium. Those wondering, this is the same person who revealed the Chinese investors the other day.
http://www.milannews.it/primo-piano/cessione-club-parla-fu-yixiang-compriamo-il-milan-e-ce-lo-dividiamo-in-500mila-173315
Basic summary (I'll try my best anyway):
- The Chinese corporations want Milan because it's historically a great club and currently in China they are looking at the best method to quickly develop football there.
- On why the investors want Milan, he says all have a link to sports already, with Wanda buying out Infront (sports Marketing group), Jack Ma of Alibaba owning half of Guangzhou (Lippi's old side) and Huawei being a major sponsor and already a partner of Milan. All the teams could feasibly buy out Milan, but none are willing to completely take over alone, instead preferring the consortium method with selling shares.
- On making shares available to fans, he says it only works if the club is "popular" (?). Basically, from what I get on this point, if they try to sell shares in Italy alone, it would never work, as there simply wouldn't be enough people to potentially buy into the club. Open it up to China, and sheer numbers of people (and therefore potential investors) drastically improves selling shares of the club.
- On returning the club to success, he says that the club needs great players, but also marketing based on the historic success of the club. A successful Milan could lead Italy to return to the forefront around the world by spending well. To return to continuity of success, the club needs men who will be symbols of the club, with the odd star introduced every year.
For the most part it's very hard to disagree. However, I must admit to having some hesitation and doubt about the whole fans buying shares thing. At this time though, I'm partly chalking up my doubt to the translation and my confusion in fully understanding what's being said.
On the last point about pointing to the history of Milan and building towards the future, I have little to no doubt that the Chinese consortium has consulted Maldini in a similar way to Bee. If you read into the comments, the structure isn't too dissimilar to what Maldini's said in interviews over time. For example, just look at what's said in this interview:
http://www.rossoneriblog.com/2014/03/18/maldini-i-suffer-my-milan-has-been-destroyed/
The other reasoning behind my assumption is Fu Yixiang is the vice president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China, not a guy who would necessarily be a man of football. Therefore I doubt the words are specifically his, but rather someone who is in talks as part of the project to take a technical lead at the club should the Chinese deal go through.
btw, slightly off topic, although kind of on topic, one aspect of this venture is to develop football in China quickly. If this is a key motivation, and really when talking about the major corporations I doubt it is, then I'm kind of worried as this project won't suddenly spur Chinese football to improve quickly.
I say this from the perspective of hearing about Chinese football projects from Tom Byer, who has spoken about the challenges he's found with Chinese football since becoming involved with their youth development. For anyone wondering who Tom Byer is, he's an American coach who was highly involved in the development of youth in Japanese football for years, pretty much overseeing the growth of Japan as a non-football entity to becoming the dominant force in Asia. China have now hired him to oversee a similar project there:
http://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/1380544/american-tom-byer-leads-chinese-soccer-revolution
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - maharaja - 04-12-2015
Thanks for all these information. So good to have it all here at one place, and to follow how the story unfolds
RE: Venting, sell the club, etc. thread - ACMILAN1983 - 04-12-2015
No problem, I figure this is probably the most important discussion ongoing with the club right now, so I'm happy to share and discuss the rumours.
La Repubblica reports on the Chinese bid:
http://www.milannews.it/primo-piano/repubblica-milan-la-cordata-cinese-ha-lappoggio-del-proprio-governo-ma-il-nuovo-stadio-e-a-rischio-173307
Basically, it says the Chinese bid is backed by the Chinese Government (who are looking to massively push football in China). What alarms me though is there's a rumour that the new stadium may not be built and the owners could decide to stay at San Siro. Apparently, the 92m deficit that was reported the other day is what causes the doubt and if the club remained at the stadium then the savings could be used to share the cost with Inter to renovate the stadium (removing the third tier), making it one of the most functional in Europe.
For me, this sets off alarm bells about the whole bid. I have my doubts and questions about selling shares, but not to build a new stadium would fundamentally be damaging imo, as while costs would be saved by renovating San Siro with Inter, the potential lost benefits and revenue streams with a solely owned stadium is really damaging. Hopefully it's nothing more than a rumour, but definitely at this point the Chinese bid is filling me with a lot of doubts and questions.
EDIT: Here's a Football Italia translation of all that's been reported today:
http://www.football-italia.net/65073/chinese-shares-buy-milan