The sale of AC Milan to Chinese investors should be completed by the middle of December, according to reports in Italy.
Milan have scheduled board meetings for Dec. 2 and 13, with the completion of a takeover of the club by the Sino Europe Sports group the main item on the agenda. Silvio Berlusconi's 30-year ownership of the Serie A club will then officially come to an end.
The dates were confirmed on Wednesday after their general manager-elect Marco Fassone returned from a trip to China, where he had met with representatives of the Sino Europe group to iron out the final details before closing.
He was accompanied by members of Berlusconi's Fininvest group -- the official majority shareholder of AC Milan -- and solicitors working on the deal.
A final payment of €440 million is expected to arrive by Dec. 2, but a second date 11 days later has also been arranged in the event of a delay in the international payment transfer, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Milan will join city rivals Inter Milan in being owned by a Chinese group once the deal goes through.
During Berlusconi's reign, the Rossoneri won eight Serie A titles and the Champions League five times. However, they have failed to qualify for Europe for three straight seasons -- their longest period without European football in the past three decades.
Under coach Vincenzo Montella they have made a strong start to the current Serie A season and are in third place, five points behind league leaders Juventus, whom they beat last month.