AC Milan buyers given 3-month delay

Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi granted a three-month delay to the Chinese investment group seeking to buy his AC Milan soccer team, after the buyers failed to get authorization for the deal from local authorities, according to people familiar with the matter.

Advisers to Berlusconi's Fininvest SpA holding company and the Chinese group, Sino-Europe Sports Investment, agreed to delay the closing until as late as the end of February in exchange of an additional, non-refundable deposit of 100 million euros ($107 million), the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private. The deposit will have to be paid by Dec 13, the original closing date, otherwise the deal falls apart, the people said.

The delay marks a new twist in an odyssey that started in August, when Fininvest agreed to sell AC Milan to a little-known group of Chinese investors for 740 million euros including debt.