The Financial Times reports that a deal to buy the defending Serie A champions for just over $1.2 billion is nearly finalized between Yankee Global Enterprises, the parent company of the MLB team, and the Los Angeles-based investment firm Main Street Advisors, which counts LeBron James and Drake among its investors.
LeBron and Drake won’t have a direct ownership position in Milan as a result of the agreement, but they will become passive investors through Main Street Advisors.
“We’re very confident that the Yankee brand is the most famous sports brand in the world, and we think we can help boost the revenue of AC Milan by being associated with it,” Yankees president Randy Levine said Tuesday.
The information comes two months after RedBird purchased AC Milan from Elliot Advisors. RedBird also owns a stake in Fenway Sports Group, the owner of English Premier League club Liverpool.
LeBron has already made investments in storied sports organizations. The Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Liverpool Football Club are among the teams that James has ownership interests in. In June, he became the first active NBA player to earn the billionaire rank.
LeBron and his business partner Maverick Carter most recently become partners with Fenway Sports Group in March 2021, giving them partial owners of the Boston Red Sox.
LeBron and Drake have collaborated on a significant business arrangement twice in the past year, the second time being the AC Milan move. The two made an investment in StatusPRO last November, a sports technology business that analysts predict will be a market leader in a sector expected to be worth $57 billion by 2027.