After trying and failing to acquire Milan in the past, Investcorp has resumed eyeing Serie A and set its sights on Inter this time. The Bahraini fund is assembling a consortium and collecting money to convince Steven Zhang to give up the team, something he has long resisted despite their well-known difficulties.
According to Il Sole 24 Ore (via Calcio e Finanza), the potential buyers have serious interest and will soon appoint a financial advisor and a bank to serve as consultants. They plot to collect between €500M and €600M from their regular bankrollers to take over the team.
Investcorp have already taken a look at Inter and especially their burgeoning debt. Their ownership is leaning on a €415M bond, which expires in 2027, to foot the day-to-day operations. Moreover, they must repay a €350M loan to Oaktree by May 2024. They used the outfit as collateral, so the American fund would assume control if he didn’t meet the deadline. The same thing happened with Milan, Yonghong Li, and Elliott a few years back.
Zhang is reportedly trying to refinance it, but it’s challenging due to the current rates, which have spiked in recent months. According to TuttoSport, the Bahraini conglomerate are willing to put up to €650M on the table, but Suning wants €1B to sell the club.
Our Take on Inter and Investcorp
Rumors of this kind have surfaced frequently since the Chinese government halted investments abroad, but nothing ever came close to reaching the finish line. Even the richer PIF crashed and burned in light of the requests, although the day of the reckoning on the loan is closer in this instance.
 |
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |