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American billionaire Gerry Cardinale has moved AC Milan and the rest of his Italian sports bets into a new holding company and hired Big 12 Conference commissioner Brett Yormark to run it.
RedBird Capital Partners, the New York investment firm Cardinale founded in 2014, launched Milan Sports & Entertainment on Nov. 13. The company will hold RedBird's investments in sports, venues and live entertainment in the Italian city, with AC Milan at its center. Yormark will serve as chief executive and report directly to Cardinale.
Yormark will leave the Big 12 at the end of January 2027. He has led the college conference since 2022, negotiating its media rights deals with ESPN and Fox through 2030-31 and bringing in four new schools.
"It's an honor and a privilege to take on this role in a city with Milan's history and passion for sport," Yormark said in the statement announcing his appointment.
What the new company will own
AC Milan, seven-time European champion and 19-time Italian league winner, is the core asset. The club claims more than 650 million fans around the world.
The company will also hold the planned Generali Stadium, a 71,500-seat venue designed by Foster + Partners and MANICA. RedBird describes the naming rights agreement with insurer Generali as the largest in sports history. The firm wants the stadium to run year-round, with concerts, hospitality and retail alongside football.
Milan Sports & Entertainment plans to build a venue management business covering concessions, merchandise and premium suites. It is exploring ownership of a Milan franchise in the proposed NBA Europe basketball league, a new sports and live entertainment destination in San Donato, on the city's southeastern edge, and ways to raise Milan's profile in international tennis.
Cardinale said AC Milan "will always be the pace car for our efforts." He said RedBird, which built its sports business one property at a time, is "now applying that experience on a different scale."
Yormark's record
Yormark spent 14 years as chief executive of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, where he oversaw the Brooklyn Nets and the opening of Barclays Center. He signed the arena's 20-year naming rights deal in 2007. He then spent three years as chief operating officer of Roc Nation, the entertainment company founded by Jay-Z, and earlier worked six years at NASCAR. His brother Michael Yormark is president of Roc Nation Sports.
Cardinale's Milan bet
RedBird bought AC Milan from hedge fund Elliott Management in 2022 for €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion). Elliott, which took control of the club in 2018, kept a minority stake.
Cardinale spent two decades at Goldman Sachs, where he became a partner and helped create the YES Network, the New York Yankees' television channel. RedBird has since invested in stadium services company Legends Hospitality, premium events business On Location and EverPass. RedBird now manages more than $21 billion, and Forbes lists Cardinale among the world's billionaires.
Figures were converted at €1=$1.12.
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