Chinese Consortium Close In On AC Milan Deal

*Crowdfunding launched in China to buy AC Milan

 AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi is preparing to weigh up two separate offers for the club that could see a majority stake in the Italian Serie A giants sold to either a Thai or Hong Kong businessman, reports said Thursday.
Speculation surrounding the eventual sale of the seven-time European champions has intensified in the past year amid the club's struggle to keep up with the pace in Serie A, and their recurring failure to qualify for Europe.
Berlusconi was earlier this month quoted as saying he had agreed terms on selling a 75 percent holding in the club to a consortium with close ties to the Chinese companies.
La Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday reported the two-time Italian prime minister Berlusconi is moving closer towards selling a majority stake in the club, with Taechaubol known as Mr. Bee and Richard Lee, a Hong Kong businessman representing a Chinese-led consortium, leading the race.
Gazzetta said due diligence of the club had already been carried out by representatives of Mr Bee. However, the Italian sports daily said the "more important" story could be the arrival of Lee in Milan, possibly on Friday.
Meanwhile, a Chinese company has launched a crowdfunding initiative to raise at least one billion euros (about 1.08 billion US dollars) to buy renowned Italian soccer club AC Milan, according to an Italian soccer insider.
According to Fu Yixiang, vice president of the Italy-China Chamber of Commerce, five companies have been linked to a possible takeover of the club.
Four are based in China -- beverage maker Wahaha, real estate developer Wanda, telecommunications giants Huawei and e-commerce magnate Alibaba, and the other interested is a Thai company, Fu said.
Fu, who has sources in the Italian soccer sector, said that no company is willing to pay 1 billion euros individually for the club as making a quick profit from the investment looks impossible.
"So, a crowdfunding move is under way in China," said Fu.
"A consortium formed by several big companies will pay half of the 1 billion euros and the other half will be raised through crowdfunding with one share expected to cost no more than 10,000 yuan (about 1,600 US dollars)," he added.
-Agencies