The world-famous San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy. Could it be home to a Thai-owned AC-Milan football club? OLIVIER MORIN/AFP
By Terry Fredrickson
Silvio Berlusconi's company Fininvest now denies a sale is in sight after having admitted that it was in negotiations with Bee Taechaubol for a deal that would give the Thai billionaire's group a controlling interest in the world-famous AC-Milan football club.
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Tuesday update: Deal denied
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE CACACE
Reuters reports that former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi now he is not interested in selling control of AC Milan, despite what Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol says .
Fininvest, the Berlusconi holding company that owns AC Milan, said in a statement there were no talks about selling the club, which Berlusconi has owned since the 1980s.
"Fininvest reiterates it is not interested in selling a majority stake in AC Milan," it said.
"Various parties have shown interest in a partnership involving Milan but, having said that, Fininvest categorically denies the existence of talks of any substance and of any pre-agreement or decisive meetings on the agenda," it added.
Maybe not buying the club would be a good thing for Mr Bee. AC Milan is currently struggling in 11th place in Italy's Serie A premier league and buying the players needed to compete for the championship could be expensive.
Thai bid for AC-Milan confirmed
A billion-baht smile on the face of Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol
Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol has made no secret of his interest in buying the famous AC-Milan football club from Silvio Berlusconi and now it appears that he has put together a financial package that might make that possible.
The Thai billionaire businessman who heads the Country Group Development and is rights owner of Global Legends Series (GLS) Bangkok confirmed on Monday he had made an offer of one billion euros to buy a majority holding in Italy’s AC Milan Football Club.
Mr Bee confirmed his move in Bangkok on Monday morning. He said he wanted to buy more than a 50% stake in the football club, but not whole ownership.
He believed an agreement could be reached this month, according to reports in Thai media.
Mr Bee clarified his position after Italian media reported that an unnamed Thai investor had offered to buy AC Milan from Silvio Berlusconi for one billion euros.
The La Repubblica newspaper, reported that 30% of the club’s shares had been sold for 300 million euros.
A statement was issued on Saturday from Berlusconi’s company, Fininvest. It said that no such deal had been concluded, but admitted negotiations were underway, according to a report in Eurosport.
AC Milan's midfielder from France Jeremy Menez (L) celebrates with teammates AC Milan's defender Cristian Zaccardo (C) and AC Milan's midfielder Andrea Poli after scoring a penalty during the Italian Serie A football match between AC Milan and Parma at San Siro Stadium in Milan on February 1, 2015. AFP PHOTO / GIUSEPPE CACACE
Vocabulary
admitted: agreed that something is true, especially when you are unhappy, sorry or surprised about it - ยอมรับ
agenda: a list of things to be discussed - กำหนดการ, วาระ
bid: an offer to buy or provide something at a specific price - การประมูล, การให้ราคา, การเสนอราคา
billionaire: having more than a billion pounds, dollars (or a billion baht in Thailand) - คนที่รวยมากๆ มีทรัพย์สินพันล้านดอลล่าร์
categorically: in a very clear and definite way - อย่างเด็ดขาด; ในทางที่ชัดเจนและแน่นอน
championship: a competition to find the best player or team in a sport or game - การแข่งขันเพื่อได้ตัวผู้ชนะเลิศ
clarify: to explain something more clearly so that it is easier to understand - แจกแจง ชี้แจง
compete: to try to be more successful or better than somebody else who is trying to do the same as you - แข่งขัน
conclude: to finish; to complete an official agreement or task, or arrange a business deal - เสร็จ, จบ
confirm: to state or show that something is definitely true or correct, especially by providing evidence - ยืนยัน
deal: a formal agreement, especially in business or politics - ข้อตกลง, การตกลงซื้อขาย, การซื้อขาย
decisive: making the final result of a situation completely certain - ซึ่งมีลักษณะชี้ขาด,แน่วแน่,ซึ่งตัดสินใจแล้ว
defender: a player whose job is to stop the other team scoring in a game such as football - ผู้ป้องกัน
denied: said that something is not true or did not happen - ปฏิเสธ
deny: to say that something is not true - ปฏิเสธ
existence: the state of being a real or living thing, or of being present in a particular place, time, or situation - การดำรงอยู่,การมีอยู่,การมีชีวิตอยู่,ความเป็นอยู่
financial: involving money - เกี่ยวกับเงิน, ทางการเงิน
global: throughout the world - ทั่วโลก
holding: the stock shares and part ownership in a company that someone owns or "holds" -
holding company: a company that is formed to buy shares in other companies which it then controls - บริษัทผู้ถือหุ้นใหญ่หรือเป็นเจ้าของหุ้นใหญ่ในบริษัทอื่น บริษัทที่ถูกจัดตั้ง ขึ้นมาเพื่อซื้อหุ้นของบริษัทอื่น
investor: a person or organization that invests money, i.e., uses money with the aim of making a profit from it, for example by buying property or buying shares in a company - นักลงทุน
issue: officially announced - ออกประกาศ
legend: a very famous person, especially in a particular field, who is admired by other people - บุคคลที่มีชื่อเสียง
majority: more than half of something - ส่วนใหญ่, ส่วนใหญ่ที่สุดของกลุ่ม
media: radio, television, newspaper, the Internet, considered as a group - สื่อ
midfielder: a football player whose position is mainly in the central part of a sports field - ผู้เล่นกองกลาง
negotiations: formal discussion in which people or groups try to reach an agreement - การเจรจาต่อรอง
offer: an act of saying that you are willing to do something for somebody or give something to somebody - เสนอเพื่อให้พิจารณา
ownership: the condition or state of owning things, having things that you "own", that belong to you, that you are the "owner" of - สิทธิการครอบครอง, ความเป็นเจ้าของ
position: stance; an attitude or view about an issue that you state clearly; position - จุดยืน
reiterate: to repeat something in order to emphasise it - พูดซ้ำ ย้ำ
rights: the legal right to control the production and selling of a book, play, film, photograph, piece of music, performance, etc. - ลิขสิทธิ์
share: any of the units of equal value into which a company is divided and sold to raise money. People who own shares receive part of the company's profits - หุ้น
stake: a share or a financial involvement in something such as a business - ส่วนได้เสีย
statement: something that you say or write that gives information or an opinion - แถลงการณ์, คำแถลง
struggling: having serious difficulties - มีความยุ่งยาก
substance: based on accurate or true information - มีมูล
underway: happening - กำลังเกิดขึ้น
