Thai bid for AC Milan confirmed; Silvio says "no" (updated)

Silvio Berlusconi's company Fininvest now denies a sale is in sight after having admitted that it was in negotiations with Bee Taechaubol for a deal that would give the Thai billionaire's group a controlling interest in the world-famous AC-Milan football club.

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The world-famous San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy. Could it be home to a Thai-owned AC-Milan football club? OLIVIER MORIN/AFP

Tuesday update: Deal denied

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE CACACE

Reuters reports that former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi now he is not interested in selling control of AC Milan, despite what Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol says .

Fininvest, the Berlusconi holding company that owns AC Milan, said in a statement there were no talks about selling the club, which Berlusconi has owned since the 1980s.

"Fininvest reiterates it is not interested in selling a majority stake in AC Milan," it said.

"Various parties have shown interest in a partnership involving Milan but, having said that, Fininvest categorically denies the existence of talks of any substance and of any pre-agreement or decisive meetings on the agenda," it added.

Maybe not buying the club would be a good thing for Mr Bee. AC Milan is currently struggling in 11th place in Italy's Serie A premier league and buying the players needed to compete for the championship could be expensive.

Thai bid for AC-Milan confirmed

Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol has made no secret of his interest in buying the famous AC-Milan football club from Silvio Berlusconi and now it appears that he has put together a financial package that might make that possible.

A billion-baht smile on the face of Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol

The Thai billionaire businessman who heads the Country Group Development and is rights owner of Global Legends Series (GLS) Bangkok confirmed on Monday he had made an offer of one billion euros to buy a majority holding in Italy’s AC Milan Football Club.

Mr Bee confirmed his move in Bangkok on Monday morning. He said he wanted to buy more than a 50% stake in the football club, but not whole ownership.

He believed an agreement could be reached this month, according to reports in Thai media.

Mr Bee clarified his position after Italian media reported that an unnamed Thai investor had offered to buy AC Milan from Silvio Berlusconi for one billion euros.

AC Milan's midfielder from France Jeremy Menez (L) celebrates with teammates AC Milan's defender Cristian Zaccardo (C) and AC Milan's midfielder Andrea Poli after scoring a penalty during the Italian Serie A football match between AC Milan and Parma at San Siro Stadium in Milan on February 1, 2015. AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE CACACE

The La Repubblica newspaper, reported that 30% of the club’s shares had been sold for 300 million euros.

A statement was issued on Saturday from Berlusconi’s company, Fininvest. It said that no such deal had been concluded, but admitted negotiations were underway, according to a report in Eurosport.

Adapted by a story from our online reporters

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