U.S. private equity fund Elliott, who rescued the sale of AC Milan by providing a financing lifeline with ironclad guarantees, high interest rates and a tight repayment schedule – will likely get reimbursed by next spring, well ahead of the October 2018 deadline.
According to Corriere Della Sera, Milan has signed an exclusive eight-week contract with advisor BGB Weston to find a refinancing solution to repay the Elliott debt (for the club and Rossoneri Sport Investments Luxembourg).
Established in 2002, BGB Weston is a London based investment management and financial advisory company that has experience in helping football clubs arrange debt finance.
The financing solution can be provided by a traditional investment bank or even another hedge fund like Elliott.
During this eight week window, the first four weeks will be to conduct a thorough due diligence of Milan’s business plan and the rest to find a financing solution which has already been started.
In fact, according to CEO Lorenzo Gallucci,
“It has been two to three months that we’ve been working on alternative solutions compared to those presented in the summer, which would be a better fit for Milan’s needs. I am confident we can find something conclusive before the eight week deadline, with considerably quicker timing than the typical refinancing.”
“The financing solution will naturally cover a longer period, between three and five years. We have lots of faith in the current management and believe with our help the club can grow its brand in Asia.”
This proposed debt refinancing, payable over a longer period with potentially better interest rates and less onerous guarantees will give Milan CEO Marco Fassone more breathing room to execute his plan.
