The Suning Group will pick up 100 per cent of Inter and terminate Erick Thohir's short ownership, sources confirm.
Italian media are being dominated by the Nerazzurri affair, as yesterday it emerged rather abruptly that the Chinese buyers were in for the whole club, and not just for 20 per cent of their shares.
The Suning Group will pick up 100 per cent of Inter and terminate Erick Thohir's short ownership, sources confirm.
Italian media are being dominated by the Nerazzurri affair, as yesterday it emerged rather abruptly that the Chinese buyers were in for the whole club, and not just for 20 per cent of their shares.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Thohir is selling the club at a substantially higher price than he paid for it. After buying 70 per cent of the club's shares for €250m in November 2013, Thohir will now sell his part at a moment when the club as a whole is valued at €500m.
Insider rumours, however, suggest that Suning may purchase the club for as much as €700-750m.
Vice President Massimo Moratti's role in this will be significant, as he controls 29.5 per cent of the club's shares. He may either sell them directly to the Chinese, or make use of a clause in the deal with Thohir and forcibly sell them to the Indonesian magnate at an agreed price – who would then sell them again to the Chinese.
Thohir will initially sell 70 per cent of Inter and remain as honorary president. On the long run he would sell the remainder of the club too, leaving the Chinese 100 per cent in control.
Apparently the reason behind the sale comes down to Thohir's failure to turn Inter into a profitable financial enterprise, as the team keeps losing more money than it makes. Access to the Champions League might have changed this, but the target was never attained.