Oaktree Capital and Inter Milan owners Suning are working on extending the deadline for the Nerazzurri owners.
This according to international news service Reuters. The news service report that sources have confirmed talks via Suning’s advisers Goldman Sachs.
Suning’s future at Inter has become a major topic of conversation in recent weeks.
The reason is that the deadline on the large loan that the Chinese company took on in 2021 from Oaktree is rapidly approaching its due date.
Suning took on the loan, worth €275 million, in 2021. They secured the financing package in order to cover operating costs at Inter during the financial crisis prompted by the pandemic.
The due date for the loan is in May of this year.
Given that that date is now just months away, it will mean that a turning point is on the way one way or another.
The terms of the loan, by widespread accounts, would see control of Inter pass into the hands of Oaktree if Suning were to default on it.
Therefore, the Inter owners will have to refinance the loan if they’re to avoid this fate. And they must do so very soon, given the approaching due date.
Oaktree & Inter Milan Owners Suning Working On Refinancing Loan
According to Reuters, Oaktree are working together with Suning to try and agree a new deadline to the loan.
Sources indicate that the talks are now ongoing.
Reuters report that the sources have not indicated the details of the discussions.
But the discussions have involved potentially having a shorter maturity on the loan.
Were Oaktree and Suning to agree on an extension of the deadline, it would certainly have significant ramifications for the Nerazzurri’s future at a corporate level.
There have been widespread rumours regarding Suning either refinancing the loan externally with a different fund, as well as of potential interest in purchasing the club from other parties.
Agreement on refinancing would mean that Suning would stay at the helm past May. Rumours of a sale would therefore be pushed back beyond that point.
