Official: Milan owner RedBird reaches agreement with Elliott to refinance vendor loan | OneFootball

The vendor loan granted by Elliott Management to RedBird Capital has been a hot topic among AC Milan fans in recent months. However, as announced by the club this evening, the loan has now been refinanced.

When Gerry Cardinale bought AC Milan from Elliott Management in 2022, he only paid €650m for a deal that was valued at a total of €1.2bn. The remaining €550m was transformed into a so-called vendor loan, granted by Elliott to RedBird, with an interest rate of around 7%.

In recent months, with the repayment deadline set for August 2025, there has been a great debate regarding the vendor loan and whether Cardinale will be able to repay it. As announced by the club this evening, however, it has been refinanced until June 2028.

“AC Milan today informed that a refinancing of the vendor loan held by entities advised by Elliott Advisors UK Limited (“Elliott”) has been completed. The refinancing with Elliott, in its position solely as lender, includes an additional investment of €170 million by AC Milan’s owner, RedBird Capital (“RedBird”), reducing the principal amount of the loan to €489 million, now with a maturity of July 2028.

“Paolo Scaroni, Chairman of AC Milan, commented: ‘Over the course of the past few years, AC Milan’s financial positioning has steadily grown and strengthened under the guidance of RedBird, a committed owner for the long-term. Significant work has been done to ensure the stability of our iconic club, position it for sustainable operational success and uphold the legacy, tradition and values of the Rossoneri’,” the statement read.

This is good news for Cardinale, of course, but it comes as a slight surprise as many expected Elliott to be more firm on the deadline. The additional investment of €170m, as such, played a huge part in getting the loan refinanced and has given the American more time to find long-term investors.