Inter’s owners Suning have rejected a loan offer which could have jeopardised their control of the club, according to a report in the Italian media.
As per Gazzetta dello Sport‘s online edition, the Nerazzurri’s president Steven Zhang, with the help of a consultant, is seeking a loan that can solve Inter’s pressing financial issues.
An unnamed fund offered an ‘advantageous loan’ to help Inter, but Suning declined because they were asked to mortgage their 68.55% stake in the club as part of the deal.
In short, this would have meant Suning losing control of the club had they failed to repay the loan, a risk the Chinese retail giant was unwilling to take.
Gazzetta explained that this was a sign Suning did not want to sell Inter in the short term, instead wanting to focus on meeting the club’s various upcoming payment deadlines with the Italian Football Federation and UEFA.
Suning have not completely lost hope of being able to continue their project at Inter, as they are still hoping the situation could improve after the COVID-19 pandemic if the Chinese government ease investment restrictions.
If this does not happen soon, the report explained, Suning would be forced to sell Inter, but this would not happen before June or July.
The Milan-based publication went on to add that the only offer to buy Inter had come from BC Partners who offered €750 million, which is €250 million less than the €1 billion wanted by Suning.
It was said to be very unlikely that BC Partners would revise their offer, and it could not be ruled out that Inter were already negotiating with another party who were bound by a non-disclosure agreement.
Should Inter reach the summer having won the Scudetto and having had liquidity guaranteed by a loan, it would potentially give Suning time to consider a more favourable exit strategy.
