A Thai businessman has offered the former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi €1bn (£740m) for a controlling stake in Milan, local media are reporting.

The offer came from Bee Taechaubol, the executive director of Thai Prime Company Limited, a south-east Asian private equity group. Taechaubol is also a co-owner of the Global Legends Series (GLS) Bangkok, which features veteran soccer players taking part in charity matches across the region.

The Bangkok Post reported that Taechaubol wanted at least a 50% stake in the seven-times European champions but not complete ownership. Taechaubol was confident of completing a deal for the 18-times Italian champions within a month, the report added.

Milan have struggled since winning the last of their Serie A titles in 2011. The club, who went through four different head coaches last year, are 11th in the 20-team standings following a 1-1 draw with Empoli on Sunday. The players were jeered off the pitch by their fans after ending the game with nine men. They trail the leaders Juventus by 24 points with 15 games to go.

Despite the on-field issues, Milan were ranked the 12th richest club in world football by Deloitte last month with revenue of £208.8m for the 2013-14 season.

If a deal is concluded Milan would follow their great rivals in being bought by south-east Asian investors after the Indonesian Erick Thohir headed a group which acquired a 70% stake in Internazionale in 2013.