The idea of Inter’s owners Suning selling the club is no longer a remote possibility, a leading Italian finance journalist warned today.
Speculation over the Chinese e-commerce giants’ plans for the Nerazzurri has been rife since Saturday, when Corriere dello Sport reported that Steven Zhang was looking to sell the club.
Inter dismissed the claims as ‘baseless’ with other reports in Italy this week suggesting they are simply looking for fresh investors.
Writing in Italian business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Carlo Festa said: “Talks are underway this week for the sale of shares in Inter, for a simple reason: Suning have changed their strategy in Europe and are reviewing their investments.
“When it comes to Inter, though, it is a different story: Suning have changed their strategy in Europe and are reviewing their investments.
“What we know for sure is that there are negotiations on going, albeit only initial talks.
“Let’s see how things develop: Suning themselves have not yet decided what to do.
“The sale of a stake in Inter, be it a minority or a majority stake, is certainly no longer a taboo.
“A Chinese Goldman Sachs banker very close to the Zhang family is handling the Inter/Suning dossier in Asia.”
Suning took charge of Inter back in the summer of 2016 when they purchased a majority stake in the club from Indonesian tycoon Erick Thohir.
They now own just shy of 70% of Inter with the remaining amount owned by LionRock Capital.
Restrictions brought in by the Chinese government following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic are thought to be behind Suning’s apparent change of plans, with investments scaled back drastically.
