Money and a Plan Behind Potential AC Milan Takeover

While choosing the next owner of AC Milan, Silvio Berlusconi has a lot to consider. He needs someone with money, of course, but also someone whom he deems worthy of his baby, the team he raised from near-bankruptcy.

There are two men emerging as the finalists in this race: Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol and Hong Kong entrepreneur Richard Lee.

This weekend, we could have a winner. Taechaubol is heading to Milan this weekend "with the intention of immediately buying a majority stake," a spokesman for his Thai investment fund told Italian news agency ANSA. Lee, however, could get to Milan before Taechaubol, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Football Italia).

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Berlusconi's daughter Marina said it was a "delicate" time for the club, according to ANSA, and rightfully so. It's a 25-plus-year bond that the Berlusconi family is about to break with the Rossoneri. They won every trophy together.

When Berlusconi's political career was in trouble, he always had the team to boost his popularity. It filled his pride and won him votes. All he had to do was sign a big player.

Berlusconi has now lived long enough to see himself become the villain. He has not invested enough in Milan, not like he once did. They are set to miss the Champions League for a second year in a row, and there is no prospect of immediate improvement.

His holding company Fininvest is bleeding money. They had to sell 92 million shares of Mediaset, per Bloomberg, just to stay relevant. (All of the lawsuits against Berlusconi don't help, including bribery charges that amounted to hundreds of millions in damages.)

So it's no wonder he set the price for Milan at around €1 billion, per Football Italia. If Berlusconi is going to leave the game, it's going to be money that draws him away. 

Which makes the Taechaubol bid all the more interesting. He is not an incredibly wealthy man by accounts, not too invested in football at all, and yet he is the one apparently ready to put up all the capital.

"It isn’t like I have ... cash lying around," he told The Worldfolio, "but I know where to get it.” 

Perhaps, then, Mr. Bee, as he is known, is just the face of a larger investment group. 

Forbes staff writer Mike Ozanian wrote that "it is becoming clear that Silvio Berlusconi is really going to be selling his Italian soccer team to Chinese investors, with Taechaubol just a tiny investor."

Here's why this bit of news is important to the average fan: If it is really the Chinese behind the AC Milan bid, then there is a more concrete plan here. Taechaubol is pure business, while the Chinese have ambitions of becoming a player in the world game. Marry the two together and there is a perfect blend of strategy.

Andy Wong/Associated Press

Milan already have a footprint in the Far East. They have sponsorship deals with Chinese mobile company Huawei and in Japan with Hello Kitty. This summer, the Rossoneri are returning to China for a friendly tournament. They are the third-most supported club in the country, per CNN, despite the poor performances in recent years. 

Imagine what a successful Milan could do.

Lee could have a similar effect. He has strong ties with Italy. He is a huge importer of Ferraris and Maseratis, according to the Mail Online, and he was awarded a national order by the former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi in 2006 for promoting Italian interests in the Far East.

Lee was also in attendance at San Siro earlier in the season, suggesting some kind of dialogue between him and Milan.

There is simply nothing to deny any more. Something is happening, and we'll know what soon. The Berlusconi era is coming to an end.