World’s second richest man linked with £890m takeover bid of AC Milan

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Bernard Arnault, the world’s second richest man, has been linked with a huge £890m takeover bid of Italian giants AC Milan.

The wealthy businessman owns various major brands including the likes of Louis Vuitton and Dom Perignon, and it appears as though he could be considering moving into the football world.

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According to Il Messaggero, he has set his sights on Milan as his possible next venture, and that could be a huge boost for the Italian giants given he is reportedly worth £86 billion as per the Forbes rich-list which was published in July.

The report goes on to suggest that such a takeover would be followed by major investments in terms of transfer funds, the academy and sponsorship deals, but time will tell whether or not a takeover materialises as he’ll have to convince current ownership group Elliott Management to sell now rather than wait for the value of the club to increase in the coming years.

However, fans may well have to curb their excitement, as The Sun report on Tuesday that Arnault has denied the reports via a statement which suggests that they haven’t presented an offer.

“The LVMH Group firmly and officially denies reports by Il Messaggero that LVMH has presented to the Elliott Fund an offer to buy the football club of AC Milan.”

It remains to be seen whether or not they do in the future though, as ultimately that statement doesn’t dismiss their possible interest in Milan, and so time will tell whether or not they will continue to explore the possibility of a takeover in the coming months.

For the Milan squad and coach Marco Giampaolo, the focus will be on matters on the pitch as they look to end their wait for Champions League football by breaking back into the top four in Serie A this season. Perhaps then Elliott will have more profitable reasons to sell.