Inter: the Suning era comes to an end, the announcement of the move to Oaktree is awaited. Live updates and live news

Tuesday 21 May was a crucial day for Inter’s corporate future. Two days before the great Scudetto celebration at San Siro on the occasion of the last home match of the season against Lazio, the Nerazzurri club experienced frenetic hours to end in what should be a historic change of ownership. In fact, at 5pm, the deadline for repayment of the 380 million euro loan that president Steven Zhang had received from Oaktree in May 2021 expired. No notifications of payments have arrived from China and everything suggests that the Suning era has concluded. 8 years full of satisfactions for Inter fans, in which the club managed to relaunch itself after years of difficulty.

It will probably take a few days to formalize the change of ownership, but the official statement from the club and the American fund is expected on Wednesday 22 May. We will then proceed with the dissolution of the Board of Directors and the appointment of new members of the Board who will take over the management of the company. From an operational point of view, no revolutions are expected: Marotta, Antonello and Ausilio should continue to cover the roles entrusted by the previous management.

Relive the day with hour-by-hour updates from our LiveBlog.

Midnight – What will happen in the next few hours

From this moment the Oaktree fund can enforce the pledge and take ownership of the club. It will take at least 15 days to complete the entire bureaucratic process, but official communications should arrive by the end of this week.

Ore 21:00 – Game over per Zhang

La Gazzetta dello Sport also confirms the impressions that have emerged in the last few hours. The deadline for repayment of the loan to Oaktree would have definitively expired, the US fund can now proceed with the enforcement of the pledge, therefore taking over as the new owners of the club. The official announcement is expected tomorrow.

8.00 pm – The Inter management has left the headquarters

The leaders of the Nerazzurri management have left the Via Liberazione headquarters. There are no signs of changes in direction compared to the news of the last few hours: no transfer would have been made from China to the Oaktree fund.

6.10pm – Next steps

Once the formal issues have been overcome, the first step of the Oaktree era will be the appointment of the new Board of Directors. At the sports management level, the current structure should continue and no revolutions would be expected in relation to the key figures of the club (Marotta, Ausilio), as reported by SkySport.

6.00pm – Official communications expected tomorrow

According to the latest rumours, the official press releases will arrive tomorrow. Barring sensational twists in the next few hours, we are moving towards the enforcement of the pledge by Oaktree to which 99.6% of the Nerazzurri club will pass.

5.00pm – Deadline expired

Time out. From this moment Oaktree could take over the ownership of Inter. Official announcements are awaited from the Fund and the Nerazzurri club.

4.30pm – The loan repayment deadline is in half an hour

It’s getting closer and closer to 5pm, the deadline for Zhang’s property to repay the loan. From that moment on, the majority of the Nerazzurri club would automatically pass into the hands of the Oaktree Fund.

3.23pm – Forbes: “Inter is not at risk of bankruptcy”

“Inter is not at risk of bankruptcy, but is undergoing an important corporate change which will see the American fund Oaktree take command of the club.” This is the post on Instagram through which the economic magazine Forbes comments on the economic situation of the Nerazzurri club which is experiencing a crucial day.

2.13pm – Abodi: “Oaktree case? Management continuity guaranteed, but…”

“This opportunity guarantees, with the fans in mind, management continuity. I hope that this experience can be used so that in the future we no longer find ourselves in certain conditions. It being understood that these are private companies and if they want to raise financing of various kinds, like the one started with Oaktree, it is legitimate and required by law. It is certainly not an extremely positive page.” This was said by the Minister of Sport, Andrea Abodi, on the sidelines of the match with Roma Club Gerusalemme which took place at the Olympic stadium in Rome.

12.44pm – Il Sole 24 Ore: “Zhang, few cards available”

Also according to Il Sole 24 Ore, Steven Zhang now has few cards left to play to maintain ownership of Inter. In fact, it is unlikely that the current Nerazzurri president will be able to repay the loan of 380 million euros granted to him by Oaktree in May 2021 at the last minute or that he will obtain an extension of the loan deadline. Again according to Il Sole 24 Ore, the chances that a legal battle could arise between Zhang and the Californian fund are very high.

11.36 am – Lautaro: “Renewal? It also depends on the ownership…”

Other important statements from Lautaro Martinez to Gazzetta dello Sport: “The renewal of my contract? We’re close, just a couple of things missing… I said ‘in the week’ because then the championship ends and I wanted to define everything before the Copa America. I realize that the corporate situation could delay everything: we talk to Marotta and Ausilio, but it also depends on the ownership… Let’s wait, I don’t know what will happen between now and next week, but there are no problems between us.”

10.25am – Repubblica: “Inter cost Zhang almost 800 million”

According to the newspaper La Repubblica, president Steven Zhang has injected almost 800 million euros into Inter: 91 million he had disbursed in 2016 when he took over the majority of the Nerazzurri club, another 674 million he spent over the years between increases in capital, sponsorships and member loans.

9.56am – Marotta: “I can stay beyond 2027”

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports the statements of Inter CEO Beppe Marotta, who spoke on Monday evening at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan on the occasion of the club’s celebration for the conquest of the Second Star: “I said that I will stop in three seasons when I am 70 years old , but in life you can always change your mind so it’s difficult to stop”, the words of the Inter manager. And again: “It’s difficult to reconfirm ourselves, but we are already thinking about new strategies. We will raise the bar, but we are not afraid because we are Inter”.

9.42 am – Identikit of the Oaktree fund

Here is everything you need to know about the Californian Oaktree fund

9.25 am – CorSera: “Oaktree will not sell Inter anytime soon”

According to Corriere della Sera, if Oaktree really became the new owner of Inter, he would not sell the club quickly but would manage it for a certain period of time (also making room for new investors) in order to make the best possible use of the boost of revenues deriving from the new Champions League and the construction of the company-owned stadium. The current management will almost certainly be confirmed en bloc.

9.10 am – Lautaro: “Zhang has always been close to us”

“President Zhang has always been close to us: even if he wasn’t with us this year, sometimes a video call was enough to hear him here anyway.” These are the words of Inter captain Lautaro Martinez, interviewed by Gazzetta dello Sport. “He is a great president and we don’t know what will happen because it’s all above our heads. We too are calm and waiting”, says the Argentine striker.

8.56 am – How the enforcement of the pledge works

As Calcio e Finanza explains, if Suning were unable to repay the loan to Oaktree, not only 68.55% of Inter would end up in the hands of the US fund (i.e. the share acquired by the Chinese holding in 2016) but also the remaining 31%, 05% owned by International Sports Capital, a holding company governed by Italian law which refers to the Hong Kong fund LionRock. Oaktree would thus have 99.6% of the club’s shares in its hands. As regards timing, again according to Calcio e Finanza, an operation of this kind at Milan (the club’s move from Yonghong Li to the Elliott fund) had taken three days.

8.46am – Steven Zhang’s numbers

Steven Zhang, the 21st president in the history of Inter, has won a total of 7 trophies: 2 scudetti (2021 and 2024), 2 Italian Cups (2022, and 2023) and 3 Italian Super Cups (2022, 2023 and 2024). Furthermore, during his presidency, the Nerazzurri club achieved two European finals: the Europa League in 2020 and the Champions League in 2023. Thanks to the conquest of the Second Star scudetto, Zhang also became the second most successful president in the history of the club. ‘Inter tied with Angelo Moratti. Only Massimo Moratti did better than him (16 trophies).

8.30 am – Zhang (at the moment) has no way out

As underlined by the Gazzetta dello Sport, Steven Zhang at the moment does not seem to have any way out to avoid the transfer of ownership of Inter into the hands of Oaktree. Even the attempt to reach an agreement with the Pimco fund for a further refinancing is now over. The Suning era, therefore, could end today after 2906 days, i.e. from 6 June 2016, the date on which the Chinese holding company became Inter’s majority shareholder.

Marotta: “No one is untransferable, but we are Inter. What’s better?

2024-05-21 22:07:30
#Inter #Suning #era #announcement #move #Oaktree #awaited #Live #updates #live #news