Suning Holdings, the Chinese owners of Inter Milan, are seeking €200m to bail out the club. Inter Milan lost €102m last season, mainly due to the pandemic, but the club has also spent heavily on top players.
Suning have their own problems in China with a heavy debt burden. The Chinese authorities have also recently cracked down on foreign outflows of capital despite the economy making a good recovery friom Covid-19.
Suning is far more likely to sell an equity stake than let the club go bankrupt, but its valuation is an obstacle in the way of any sell off. Talks with private equity group BC Partners appear to have broken down after they valued the group at just €750m compared with Sunning's €900m.
Others may be waiting in the wings in the hope of a fire sale, Certainly two distressed debt groups are believed to be in the frame, as well as other two private equity firms from Sweden and the US. In some respects the pandemic is a catalyst for globalisation in football as financiers want to pounce.
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