Italian news agency ANSA report that the Guardia di Finanza are investigating Red Bird Capital’s purchase of Milan. The acquisition took place last year with Red Bird acquiring a majority stake in the club for €1.2b, however the deal is now being looked at the Italian financial police.
ANSA report that the complaint originates from Milan’s former minority shareholder in the management of the club, the Luxembourg-based Blue Skye, however no individuals are currently under investigation and while the Guardia di Finanza (Italy’s financial police) seized documents from a number of offices, none of these were Milan’s headquarters.
Last September, Blue Skye and its parent company Luxembourg Investment Company had filed an urgent appeal with the Civil Court of Milan to block the sale of Milan, but then dropped the precautionary petition, noting that the sale had already been finalised at the end of August.
In the appeal, the Luxembourg companies complained, among other things, that they had never ‘been able to obtain any information on this sale, in which they were directly interested‘ and spoke of an ‘opaque‘ operation. It had been explained by the lawyers that a proceeding, also initiated by Blue Skye against Elliott, on a chapter of the affair, in particular that of the lien, was still pending.
Blue Skye explained that a lawsuit on the merits was pending before the Milanese court, filed on 9 September, with which they were requesting ‘the ascertainment of the invalidity of the waiver‘ of the lien ‘existing in favour of Project Redblack’, a special purpose vehicle set up in 2017 for the investment operation in Milan and in which Blue Skye entered at the time.
In Luxembourg, meanwhile, another case had been opened on Blue Skye’s request to annul the agreement that had led to the sale of Milan. And a lawsuit had also been filed in New York, involving documents requested by Blue Skye from Elliott.
