US financial expert Andrea Zanon believes that Inter’s value is currently limited by the amount of debt that they have, but that if their financial problems can be lessened there is huge potential for value in the Nerazzurri.
Speaking to Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport in an interview published in today’s print edition, the private equity specialist gave his thoughts on the Nerazzurri’s potential value and the reason why they are not currently able to reach the €1 billion that Suning have put on them as an asking price in his view.
Inter have been persistently linked with a sale over the past year or so, although in all cases reports of interest or of talks have come to nothing whilst current owners Suning have always issued firm denials.
The current owners’ valuation has been reported as one of the key factors preventing a sale despite no lack of interest, and Zanon gave his thoughts on this.
“The financial difficulty which Inter find themselves in is well-known,” he said. “I was the first to talk about advanced negotiations in with the PIF in November. I believe that nothing has changed in this respect, but there are other interested parties.”
“I believe that Inter are negotiating with different funds,” he continued, “even here in the US. I believe that they’re also using American interest to continue the dialogue with Saudis.”
As for a valuation of Inter, Zanon said that “I’d say that the €1 billion that was being talked about last December is a figure that the Saudis may be willing to spend. ”
“However, there are rumors that the negotiations have stopped because the Gulf nation doesn’t want to go over €800 million,” he added.
“The price of Inter, today, after two years of Covid, would be lower than €1 billion because their debt problems are extremely serious.,” Zanon explained.
“On the other hand,” he continued, “Inter’s growth potential is extraordinary. However, the internal financial problems must be resolved, the losses must be stemmed.”
“I would say that Inter would be an excellent target,” Zanon said from an investment perspective, “one of the most interesting in Europe, but there’s a need for a lot of management work for the club to get back on track.”
