Alibaba and three other Chinese companies are reported to be interested in the takeover of AC Milan. The famous Italian football club is also said to be the target of a crowdfunding initiative in China intended to raise at least $1 billion for its acquisition by the general public and several big companies. This comes after a report a month ago that Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian president who controls AC Milan, had signed a deal to sell one-fourth of his shares for €250 million to a Thai entrepreneur, Bee Taechaubol, with an option for the balance of his shares to be exercised in five years' time. A subsequent report indicated that Berlusconi had decided to sell 75 percent of the shares to a group of Chinese investors led by Richard Lee, a wealthy entrepreneur of Hong Kong involved in telecommunications.

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