American investment firm RedBird Capital, which owns a minority stake in Premier League side Liverpool, confirmed their €1.2 billion takeover of Serie A side AC Milan on Wednesday, making it the second most expensive club takeover in history after Chelsea’s €3 billion sale to Todd Boehly.

Elliott Advisors UK Limited, the current owners of the club, however, will not sell their entire stake and will instead retain a minority stake in the Rossoneri, who won their first Serie A title last season after 11 years.

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Commenting on the takeover, RedBird Founder and Managing Partner Gerry Cardinale said, “We are honoured to be a part of AC Milan’s illustrious history and are excited to play a role in the Club’s next chapter as it returns to its rightful place at the very top of Italian, European and world football.”

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Cardinale went on to heap praise on former owners Elliott Advisors for helping the club ascend to greatness again, saying, “I want to thank Gordon Singer and the entire Elliott team for the tremendous work they have done over the last four years in rebuilding Milan and returning it to its rightful place at the top of Serie A.”

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“RedBird’s investment philosophy and track record in team ownership has shown that football clubs can be successful on the pitch and sustainable off it – we are looking forward to a long term partnership with the club, its management team and Milanisti around the world to keep propelling Milan in the years to come,” Cardinale concluded, vowing to invest in the Serie A side to make it a major force in Europe again.

RedBird is no stranger to investing in sports teams: the firm has a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which owns Liverpool, MLB side Boston RedSox, and NHL side Pittsburgh Penguins. RedBird also owns Toulouse FC, who got promoted to Ligue 1 last season and will start the 2022/23 season in the top flight of French football.