Steven Zhang has no intention of selling Inter and is working on refinancing the now infamous debt with US fund Oaktree.
Pages eight and nine of today’s Gazzetta dello Sport detail how the Nerazzurri president reiterated his desire to retain control of the club during the most recent shareholders’ meeting, believing in the future of the project and the new stadium plans.
Zhang’s main issue is the repayment of the loan to Oaktree, which costs around €325m and is due by May 20, 2024. The Inter president wants to refinance the loan and is open to including a new fund as a minority shareholder.
No due diligence has been carried out by any potential buyers and Zhang is still pushing to avoid selling the Nerazzurri. In recent weeks, he’s been dealing with Suning’s delicate financial situation following the Chinese government’s decision to allocate €650m to the company to help their liquidity crisis.
Zhang is hoping to refinance the Oaktree loan and reduce the interest rates, which currently sit at 12%. The goal is to resolve this issue by late 2023 or early 2024 and talks are currently ongoing with at least two US credit funds.
Inter now indirectly bailed out by the Chinese government , disgusting.