Italian journalist Marco Bellinazzo has poured some cold water on recent reports linking Bahrain-based fund InvestCorp with Inter Milan.
Writing in a tweet, the Italian football finance expert denied that due diligence is currently underway or that there has been a formal offer by the fund to purchase the Nerazzurri from current owners Suning.
Rumours about a possible change in owner have been persistent in recent years.
And in the past couple of days, another round of reports have come out.
These have centred around the possibility of an offer that would actually be large enough to meet Suning’s valuation.
Specifically, Bahrain-based fund InvestCorp have been at the centre of these rumours.
This is not the first time that there have been linked between the fund and a possible purchase of Inter.
But recent reports suggest that InvestCorp have indicated that they are willing to make an offer as high as €1.3 billion to purchase Inter.
This would be in excess of the €1 billion that Suning are widely reported to have set as something of a minimum threshold at which point they would listen to a bid.
Moreover, there are also reports that InvestCorp are now in the stage of due diligence on the move.
Bellinazzo: No Due Diligence Underway By InvestCorp On Inter Milan Takeover
But according to Bellinazzo, these rumours do not have much basis.
In his view, there is no reason to believe that InvestCorp have gone so far as to make a formal offer.
It is possible that the interest has been expressed. The Bahrain-based fund have shown their interest in purchasing Inter from Suning in the past.
And there is a possibility that they could have indicated the willingness to go higher with their offer to investment banks Raine Group or Goldman Sachs, who have been handling the search for buyers.
But as far as reports of serious advances in the process, Bellinazzo believes that there is nothing there.
He tweeted that “Inter are better off than they were, even if the losses are still high for the fiscal year ending in 2023 (€85 million).”
He continued that “No due diligence is underway on the accounts of the Nerazzurri.”
“In order for that to happen there would have to be a formal purchase offer (none exists). Nothing beyond interest expressed to advisors.”
L’Inter sta meglio, anche se il deficit 2023 resta alto (85 milioni). Sui conti del club nerazzurro non è in corso alcuna due diligence in quanto per avviarla occorre presentare un’offerta formale (che non c’è), al di là dell’interesse eventualmente manifestato presso gli advisor
— Marco Bellinazzo (@MarcoBellinazzo) September 26, 2023