Chinese investors to pay second deposit in AC Milan deal only on Tuesday - sources

MILAN ( Reuters) - The Chinese consortium seeking to buy Italian soccer club AC Milan is expected to pay an agreed second 100 million-euro ($106 million) deposit by Tuesday, a day later than originally scheduled, two sources close to the matter said on Monday.

Last week the Chinese investors and the holding company of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, which owns AC Milan, agreed to postpone the closing of the deal to March 3, but the consortium was asked to pay the second deposit on top of another 100 million euros it had already committed.

The deal was originally expected to close on Dec. 13 but the consortium, backed by Haixia Capital and entrepreneur Yonghong Li, was struggling to get approval from the Chinese government for the deal.

The sale of AC Milan, one of Berlusconi's most cherished assets, is part of a wider effort by the 79-year-old former prime minister to reshape his business empire to prepare for his own succession, disposing of the most indebted businesses.

($1 = 0.9438 euros)

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, writing by Agnieszka Flak)