US fund Oaktree are reportedly considering taking control of Inter as club president Steven Zhang continues to wrestle with over €350m in debt.
Nerazzurri owners Suning owe the American capital management experts over €275m plus around €75m in interest, sums they’ll have to pay by the May 20th deadline. Zhang has been hard at work in negotiations with Oaktree, trying to set up a new deal.
Corriere dello Sport details how the Inter president offered to pay Oaktree around €100m immediately, the total interest accumulated until maturity from the €275m loan back in May 2021, in exchange for an extension of the loan to May 2026 or 2027, raising the interest rate to 16% or €45m a year.
This offer did not prove convincing for Oaktree, prompting Zhang to return with an offer to raise the interest rate to 20%, almost €60m per year. The Nerazzurri owners had believed that that US fund preferred to extend the timescale considering the lack of buyers, but they were wrong.
Oaktree fear that the Milanese club’s value could decrease as a result of this type of management, and so they’re now seriously considering taking charge of the club once the loan deadline passes on May 20th.
No final decision has been made yet and the two parties will continue negotiations over the next two months, with Zhang desperate to avoid losing control of the Nerazzurri.