Five different companies make up a consortium interested in buying AC Milan, according to a report in Friday's Gazzetta dello Sport, which also quotes head of Italian-Chinese chamber of commerce Fu Yixiang as saying "Berlusconi wants to sell, it's just the family are divided on when."
According to Bejing press agency Xinhua, the five companies, represented by Hong Kong businessman Richard Lee, are China's largest beverage producer Wahaha, property developer Wanda Group, telecommunication giants Huawei, e-commerce company Alibaba plus an unnamed Thai company.
Fu Yixiang explained that individually none of the companies would be able to afford to pay the necessary €1 billion to purchase the whole of the club, which is enormously popular in the country.
"A consortium made up of several big companies will pay for half the billion, while the other half will be collected through crowdfunding, at around 10.000 yuan (approximately €1500) per share," Fu told Xinhua.
Fu added "It is no secret that Berlusconi wants to sell the club. The issue is that there is no agreement in the family on when to sell: some members would like to sell as soon as possible, arguing that it is a financial burden, while others would rather keep it until the new stadium is built, in order to be able to ask for a higher price."