Berlusconi grants 'extra time' to Chinese investors

MILAN - AC Milan owner and president Silvio Berlusconi has backed giving the Chinese Sino-Europe Sports consortium "extra time" to complete the purchase of the Serie A giant following the latest delay in the takeover.

"They asked for some extra time and I don't see what there is to worry about," Berlusconi said in an interview with Il Tempo newspaper on the weekend.

A bid by SES, which has made a down payment of 200 million euros on a deal that values the Serie A giants at 740 million euros ($825.4 million), appeared to hit the rocks on Friday after the consortium failed to complete the takeover by the agreed March 3 deadline.