DHAKA: Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi agreed on Friday to sell soccer team AC Milan to a consortium of Chinese investors, ending his three decades of ownership of the seven-times European champions.

Berlusconi’s Fininvest family holding said on Friday it had signed a preliminary agreement valuing the club at €740 million ($1.08 billion) including €220 million of debt, smh.com.au publishes this report on Saturday.

The Chinese investors, whose identity had not been disclosed during three months of negotiations, included development and investment fund Haixa Capital and Yonghong Li, chairman of management company Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing, the statement said.

It added that there were other companies involved in the deal, some of which are controlled by the Chinese state, but gave no further details on their exact identity.

Last month, a source said that private investment firm GSR Capital, with its co-founder and Chinese dealmaker Sonny Wu, were among investors but the Fininvest statement did not mention either.

Chinese investors with cash to spend have been pouring money into soccer, as President Xi Jinping, a soccer fan himself, looks to make the country a global force in the sport.

On Friday, a group called Yunyi Guokai (Shanghai) Sports Development Ltd, controlled by businessman Guochuan Lai, agreed to buy English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion.

BDST: 1338 HRS, AUG 06, 2016
RR