中國商人收購AC米蘭交易接近完成

AC Milan is heading for a listing in Hong Kong after financing from US hedge fund Elliott Management revived a Chinese deal to buy the Italian football club from former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

AC米蘭(AC Milan)邁向在香港上市之路。此前，來自美國對沖基金埃利奧特管理公司(Elliott Management)的融資，令中國一宗從意大利前總理西爾維奧•貝盧斯科尼(Silvio Berlusconi)手中收購這家意大利足球俱樂部的交易復活。

Elliott has agreed to provide part of the financing for little-known Chinese investor Yonghong Li to buy AC Milan for €740m, said people directly informed of the deal.

直接了解交易相關(guān)信息的人士表示，埃利奧特已同意為少有人知的中國投資者李勇鴻以7.4億歐元收購AC米蘭提供部分融資。

The transaction values AC Milan at about four times revenues, putting it on a par with Chinese Suning Holdings’ purchase of a majority stake in Inter Milan last year.

該交易令AC米蘭的估值達到其營收的4倍左右，從而與去年中國蘇寧控股(Suning Holdings)收購國際米蘭(Inter Milan)多數(shù)股份的交易相當。

Elliott’s intervention is decisive to the deal closing successfully. It was first agreed last August.

埃利奧特的介入對交易的成功收官有著決定性影響。該交易是在去年8月首次達成的。

The transaction, led by Mr Li’s Sino-Europe Sports, includes €250m of downpayments to Mr Berlusconi’s family holding company Fininvest and €200m of debt. It is expected to close in mid-April. Sino-Europe Sports paid a €100m deposit for the club, non-refundable if the deal failed to close.

這一由李勇鴻的中歐體育(Sino-Europe Sports)領(lǐng)銜的交易，包括2.5億歐元支付給貝盧斯科尼家族控股企業(yè)Fininvest的定金和2億歐元的債務(wù)。該交易預計會于4月中旬完成。中歐體育為該俱樂部支付了1億歐元的保證金，如果交易未能完成，這筆保證金將不會返還。

Mr Li, who is representing a consortium of unspecified Asian investors, is looking at listing the club on the Hong Kong stock exchange in the next 18 months to provide an exit for Elliott, said people with knowledge of the deal.

李勇鴻代表一個由未公開亞洲投資者組成的財團。知情人士表示，他正尋求在今后18個月內(nèi)將該俱樂部在港交所上市，以便為埃利奧特提供退出機制。

The agreement to buy the lossmaking football club — a seven-times European champion that has failed to win any major competition for six years — is the latest in a flurry of Asian investments in European football.

AC米蘭曾七次獲歐洲冠軍杯冠軍，卻已有六年未曾贏得任何重大比賽。收購這支虧損球隊的交易，是亞洲對歐洲足球一系列投資的最新一例。

It comes after months of on-and-off talks between the two sides. A clampdown by Chinese authorities on so-called foreign vanity deals, amid a wider crackdown on capital outflows, had threatened to derail it.

交易達成前，雙方開展了幾個月時斷時續(xù)的磋商。在更大范圍的遏制資本外流的舉措中，中國當局對所謂無意義境外投資的打壓，也險些令交易流產(chǎn)。

The transaction also marks the end of an era for Mr Berlusconi, whose ownership of AC Milan in its 1990s heyday helped to build his personal and political popularity.

該交易還標志著貝盧斯科尼時代的終結(jié)。貝盧斯科尼在上世紀90年代AC米蘭鼎盛時期對該球隊的所有權(quán)，為他建立了個人和政治上的人氣。

But Mr Berlusconi, 80, has decided to sell the underperforming club as it has become a drag on his personal fortune — and appeal — in recent years.

不過，最近幾年它已成為現(xiàn)年80歲的貝盧斯科尼個人財富和吸引力的拖累，因此他決定出售這支表現(xiàn)不佳的球隊。

He has also baulked at spending the millions necessary to compete with deep-pocketed Asian investors. The media entrepreneur, who has a messy succession to resolve with five children from two marriages, is also weighing his ownership of Italian media group Mediaset.

他也害怕支付與財力雄厚的亞洲投資者競爭所必需的成百萬開銷。為解決兩次婚姻帶來的五個子女的紛亂繼承權(quán)問題，這位傳媒大亨還在仔細考慮對意大利傳媒集團Mediaset的所有權(quán)。

Football fans in Asia are the future of the European football business, said industry analysts.

行業(yè)分析師表示，亞洲球迷是歐洲足球業(yè)的未來。

Mr Li is seeking to advance AC Milan’s profile in China through boosting revenues in merchandising and the rights to show Serie A games on Chinese television.

李勇鴻試圖通過提振相關(guān)產(chǎn)品銷售收入和甲級聯(lián)賽中國電視轉(zhuǎn)播權(quán)收入，提高AC米蘭在中國的形象。

Elliott and Mr Li’s investment vehicle Rossoneri Lux have agreed a €253m financing deal. This includes €180m to finance AC Milan’s acquisition from Mr Berlusconi’s Fininvest, and a €73m intercompany loan to AC Milan to finance short-term loans, said two people informed of the deal structure.

埃利奧特和李勇鴻的投資公司Rossoneri Lux已達成2.53億歐元的融資協(xié)議。兩位了解協(xié)議安排的人士表示，這一協(xié)議包括為從貝盧斯科尼旗下的Fininvest收購AC米蘭提供1.8億歐元的融資，以及一筆對AC米蘭的7300萬歐元企業(yè)間貸款，作為對其的短期融資。