AC Milan is set to be sold to a group of Chinese investors for $820 million (€740 million).
Silvio Berlusconi approved the preliminary contract concerning their purchase of the club. Berlusconi has run Milance since 1986.
The CEO of Berlusconi's holding company Fininvest, Danilo Pellegrino, and Han Li – representative of the group of investors – signed a contract which would see the incumbent owner's 99.93 percent stake sold.
Both parties aim to complete the takeover by the end of the calendar year as they await the green light from the Italian and Chinese authorities.
"Mr Silvio Berlusconi, chairman of AC Milan, has approved the preliminary contract signed by Mr. Danilo Pellegrino, CEO of Fininvest, and Mr Han Li, representative of a group of Chinese investors, concerning the purchase of the entire stake owned by Fininvest in AC Milan equal to 99.93 percent," an official Fininvest statement reads.
"The binding contract between the parties will be completed by the end of 2016, subject to the obtaining of applicable authorizations from the Italian and Chinese authorities. The agreement values AC Milan at 740 million euros ($819M) with an estimated indebtedness of approximately €220M ($243.5M).
"The agreement requires the acquirers to undertake significant capital increases and liquidity injections aimed at strengthening AC Milan's financial structure, for a total amount of €350M ($387.4M) over a three-year period.
"During the entire negotiation process, the signature of the contract and the undertakings assumed thereby, Fininvest has always had as a priority the objective which was clearly stated by Mr. Berlusconi: to provide AC Milan, through an appropriate ownership structure, with greater financial resources now more essential for competing with the top football clubs of the world."