The deadline has passed and Yonghong Li has not paid the €32m, so Elliott Management can begin repossessing Milan, but there is some hope for a sale.
According to multiple sources including financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore and La Stampa, Yonghong Li has missed the deadline of midnight Italian time to repay the €32m that US hedge fund Elliott used to raise the capital last month.
The deadline has passed and Yonghong Li has not paid the €32m, so Elliott Management can begin repossessing Milan, but there is some hope for a sale.
According to multiple sources including financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore and La Stampa, Yonghong Li has missed the deadline of midnight Italian time to repay the €32m that US hedge fund Elliott used to raise the capital last month.
With no extension allowed this time, it means Elliott Management can effectively begin the process of repossessing his assets, specifically AC Milan.
However, Sky Sport Italia note there is still some hope that Li could remain as at least a minority shareholder.
If he can reach an agreement with a new buyer and bring the full €415m outstanding to Elliott by Monday, then the hedge fund could leave the club in the hands of a different majority shareholder.
Yonghong Li was only able to complete the takeover from Silvio Berlusconi in April 2017 for €740m thanks to a €303m loan from Elliott Management.
The full sum must be repaid by October with added interest for a total of €380m.
With the extra €32m from the capital increase, which was provided as an emergency cover when Li missed a deadline in June, that takes the total sum he owes to the hedge fund to €415m.
Rushing through a sale this big could be difficult, because there continue to be mixed reports over who is the favourite to buy the club.
Rocco Commisso has now fallen behind to Tom Ricketts, while there are also an Asian and even a Russian businessman rumoured to be in talks.
La Stampa reports that if Li doesn’t find a new buyer by Monday, Elliott Management will make plans to inject another €150m into the club coffers to keep it running and fund some transfers.
Once they take over, the negotiations to buy Milan will have to be through Elliott rather than Yonghong Li.