Inter’s owners Suning have two options left to secure fresh investment for the Nerazzurri, according to a report from a British journalist today.
Sports writer Ben Jacobs explained in a thread on Twitter that BC Partners were ‘no longer actively pursuing’ a deal to take over the club, with the parties still €300 million apart on their valuations for Inter.
The British-based private equity firm are not interested in purchasing a minority stake either, meaning the only two interested groups now are Fortress and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Fortress are currently in pole position to strike a loan deal with Suning, although Jacobs suggested this might be because they are the ‘only option’ realistically left for Inter’s owners.
Suning need around €200-250 million in capital before the end of May to solve Inter’s ongoing financial problems, which means they need to secure some kind of investment soon.
PIF remain interested in buying into the club, but they are taking their time to assess all options and negotiations would have to ‘speed up significantly’ if a deal was to be agreed before May.
The Saudis ‘see no value’ in buying Inter outright because Suning want €1 billion to sell the club, but Yasir Al Rumayyan (who is fronting up PIF’s negotiations) has discussed buying a stake of up to 30%.
PIF are conducting some due diligence at the moment because, while they also value Inter lower than €1 billion (like BC Partners did), they see big potential with investing into the Nerazzurri.
Suning’s need to secure capital before the end of the season works against PIF, putting Fortress in the driving seat for now.
However, Jacobs – who has been following PIF’s attempts to buy Newcastle United in recent months – did point out that Fortress and PIF have strong links, so a loan from Fortress would not necessarily rule out PIF getting involved at Inter in the future.