By Paul Nicholson
June 6 – Serie A giants Inter Milan have completed the sale of a 69% stake in the club to Chinese retail giants Suning Holdings Group, one of the three largest Chinese non-state owned enterprises with close to $50 billion in annual sales.
Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd will pay €280 million for the majority stake as part of an overall €750 million deal.
The club’s majority shareholding had previously been held by Indonesian Erick Thohir who for about a year had been looking to bring Chinese investment to the club. He bought his 70% majority shareholding in 2013.
Thohir will remain as president but with a reduced shareholding of 31%. Former Inter president Massimo Moratti, who had just under 30% of the clubs shares, has sold his full shareholding. There will be no Italian shareholders left in the club.
Suning are taking on €230 million of debt and a €100 million loan from Thohir. And there is the promise of investment in the club which finished fourth in Serie A this season and qualified for the Europa League but was some distance off challenging for Champions League places.
“Suning will inject a steady stream of capital investment in Inter Milan, which will help attract more talented players,” said chairman Zhang Jindong.
Suning also owns Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning and has invested heavily in players, including Brazilian Ramires who was acquired from Chelsea for €25 million in January.
“The acquisition of Inter Milan is part of Suning’s strategy in the development of the sports industry and driving our campaign in the health and lifestyle consumer market. This will not only improve Jiangsu Suning F.C.’s technical set-up and operational capabilities, but will also help Suning to grow internationally, enabling us to become a household brand name in Europe and across the world,”said Zhang.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity for Inter Milan to grow further in China, and China will become the second home of Inter Milan. In addition, Suning’s capital investment and abundant resources will enable Inter Milan to return to its glory days and become a stronger property able to attract top stars from across the globe.”
The new ownership have stated that they want to re-establish the club as one of the top 10 in Europe, which in effect means annual qualification for the Champions League.
Thohir said: “This new partnership with Suning Holdings Group is a game changer for Inter Milan. Over the past two and a half years we have been building on the existing solid base at the club and this new partnership will enable us to take the next step in the project and return Inter Milan to its rightful place in world club football.”
Cross-city rivals AC Milan, owned by the Berlusconi family, are currently in exclusive negotiations for the sale of 70% of the club €750 million (including debt). Those negotiations are expected to be completed within the next 10 days when the period of exclusivity ends.
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