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Primavera
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Didn’t Elliot absorb all of their debt to make it more attractive for buyers? Either way Redbird’s journey starts with debt.
 
E

Ethor

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As long it isn't a wack job like Elon Musk, even a vulture fund, short term, may be better than the current lot.
 
Il Drago

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Italian football club Inter Milan kicks off search for buyer​

Owner Suning becomes latest Chinese group to reduce exposure to European football

Bankers will begin the search this week for a buyer for Inter Milan, making it the latest top-tier football club to be put up for sale, according to people familiar with the matter.

US boutique bank Raine Group, which handled the record-breaking £2.5bn auction of Chelsea this year, and Goldman Sachs are working on the sale process, the people said.

Inter has been owned since 2016 by Nanjing-based electronics retailer Suning, which acquired the club during a wave of investment from China in European football.

A number of Chinese owners have since sold out or reduced their exposure, as gathering economic troubles at home and waning political backing for the project prompted a rethink.

Suning, one of China’s largest bricks-and-mortar retailers, has struggled as consumers made the switch to online shopping.
The company’s large short-term debt pile also left it exposed to a tightening of credit conditions in the Chinese economy.
In February last year, Suning rushed to raise new financing to plug the funding gap at Inter caused by the pandemic, resulting in a $275mn loan from distressed debt specialist Oaktree Capital.

Then in July, Suning itself was rescued by the local government and shareholder Alibaba in a $1.4bn bailout, adding to speculation about the long-term likelihood of keeping ownership of Inter. In January this year, Inter returned to the bond market.

Last month, Inter’s board signed off on the club’s latest set of accounts, which showed revenue increasing to €440mn and a loss of €140mn for the 2021/22 financial year. The club said that the majority shareholder “had formally expressed his commitment to backing the group by ensuring asset support”.

Inter is led by president Steven Zhang, the son of Zhang Jindong, Suning’s founder who paid €270mn for a majority stake in the “Nerazzurri” in 2016.

Suning is ready to inject capital of €100mn this year in tranches, according to a person close to the club. The person pointed to previous guidance that Suning is open to new partners and would consider the sale of a minority stake.

The banks and Inter Milan declined to comment.

Italian football has become an increasingly popular destination for international investors. Roma, Atalanta, Fiorentina and Genoa are among several clubs now controlled by American owners.

This year, US investment group RedBird Capital bought Inter’s local rivals AC Milan in a deal worth €1.2bn, a record for a European football club outside the English Premier League.

However, Italian football presents a number of challenges for investors compared with other European leagues.

Serie A has the second lowest broadcast revenues of the so-called “Big Five” leagues, with Italian football’s international rights fetching about €230mn a year, according to Enders Analysis, far below Spain’s figure of €900mn.

Many Italian clubs are also sorely in need of stadium upgrades or replacements. Inter shares its home with AC Milan — the San Siro. Plans have been drawn up for a new 65,000 stadium, which is expected to cost about €1.3bn and likely to take many years to complete.

The shared stadium model has a drawback for potential investors as hosting double the number of games makes it far harder to generate revenue from other events.
Click to expand...

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

News, analysis and comment from the Financial Times, the worldʼs leading global business publication
www.ft.com www.ft.com
 
wera

wera

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YoramG said:
Woo! I don't ask for much. Just someone financially healthy enough that we don't have to sell 1/2 starters every summer.
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Exactly. But the club as a whole should be smarter with the money no matter how rich our new owners would be. As long as we have Marotta, he can build a championship worthy team a.k.a. a team that could make CL playoffs every year.
 
CafeCordoba

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Lol FT

They are reporting something which were reported weeks ago in Italy. This is not news.
 
YoramG

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CafeCordoba said:
Lol FT

They are reporting something which were reported weeks ago in Italy. This is not news.
Click to expand...
Even if it's not news, to have it confirmed by one of the biggest papers in the world is a relief. If the FT have got hold of the information, then dealings are well and truly underway.
 
CafeCordoba

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But they basically ran the Calcio e Finanza and Il Sole 24 Ore news. Those are respectable publications as well.
 
CafeCordoba

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This Bertarelli dude gets my seal of approval, leggo!
 
brehme1989

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CafeCordoba said:
This Bertarelli dude gets my seal of approval, leggo!
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Yeap, exactly the kind of owner we need. Not sure on the person of course but he has the background we should be looking for.

@Adriano@10 or any other Swiss here that can give more info or tell us if this has hit the media there?
 
Il Drago

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What a shame the rumor is from the worst possible source. This is the kind of owner we need.
 
Jnr

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Suning trying to sell the club is even better news than outplaying Barca for 2nd spot in our CL group.

This club deserves a new, motivated, wealthy owner . Enough of the suffering!
 
Il Drago

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CEO Of Football Benchmark Andrea Sartori: "€1.2 Billion Is A Realistic Price For Inter"​


Football Benchmark founder and CEO Andrea Sartori gave his valuation of the Nerazzurri, as Inter Milan has been reportedly place for sale by owner Steven Zhang.

After a report in the Financial Times this week that stated that Inter Milan owner is looking to sell the club, Football Benchmark CEO Andrea Sartori analyzed the club’s asking price.

“The eventual €1.2 billion valuation is realistic and it is in line with Inter’s valuation by Football Benchmark of €1 billion from January 2022.

“There is a squad worth €600 million, a brand worth €400 million and a training ground worth €400-500 million,” the football financial expert said to Gazzetta dello Sport.

“There are 2 potential upsides that the new investor has to take into consideration: the new stadium and the potential launch of the SuperLeague, which no one is taking about,” the Football Benchmark founder and CEO continued.

“[Zhang] has planned an influx of capital worth €142 million and an amortization of loans worth €411 million, of that €347 million has been converted to equity.

“This won’t show in the previous fiscal year, but to be certain we have to wait until the annual budget is approved on October 28.

“The Zhang family will have invested a total of €648 million by June 30, 2021,” concluded the football financial expert.

Steven Zhang, whose family owns Suning.com, purchased 70 percent of Inter Milan back in 2016 for a reported value of $307 million.
The Chinese businessman has reportedly invested €800 million since his family bought the Nerazzurri back in 2016.

In 2021, Zhang negotiated a €275 million loan with the American capital hedge fund group, Oaktree, and the first installment is expected to be paid back in 2024.

It is under these conditions that Zhang to instruct third-party mediators to search for a potential new buyers before the Chinese ownership has to pay back the first installment of the loan from Oaktree.

Inter’s ownership situation has been a subject of speculation since Zhang accepted the loan from Oaktree, as it was rumoured earlier in the year that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was interested in purchasing the club.
 
satubito

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Ernesto Bertarelli would be great. Filthy rich, lover of sport, successful, and Italian!
 
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