Steven Zhang did not give the long-awaited speech at the celebration for Inter’s Scudetto. Between the pride for the second star and the bitterness for the now almost certain farewell to the presidency of the club, in the end, the latter prevailed. On the other hand, the feeling of the approximately 700 guests at the gala dinner at the Sforzesco Castle was also ambivalent. On the one hand, the joy of winning a nine-month long championship, evidenced by the joke of the president of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa (“Guys, you have made half of Milan happy, the other half is crying so much that it’s pouring”). On the other, the uncertainty about what will happen in the next 24 hours.
Barring a financial miracle or legal resistance from Zhangfrom tomorrow Oaktree will be the new owner of Inter. If Suning does not reimburse him 375 million by midnight today, the American fund will start procedures to take possession of the club’s shares in the hands of the Chinese group and its ally Lionrock. The timing of justice is also uncertain in Luxembourg, home to Inter’s control vault. If you look at the previous Yonghong Li-Elliott-Milan triangle, however, it is likely that it will not last long. In July 2018, three days were enough for the transfer of Milan’s capital from China to the United States. This time it might take a little longer, if only because the 2021 contract provides that Oaktree will pay Suning the difference between Inter’s market value and the amount of the debt. The value of the club has already been estimated and, according to unconfirmed rumours, it is around 850 million, including debts.
Possible entry of new investors
Once the pledge on Inter has been enforced, Inter’s board of directors will expire and a meeting will be called to appoint the new one, in which Oaktree will hold 99.6% of the voting rights. Then, Zhang will only have legal action and, perhaps, the regret for having rejected the approaches of the various suitors who have appeared on the Inter dossier over the years. But passion, as we know, is not always a good advisor in business and Zhang certainly has no lack of love for the Nerazzurri.
The numbers will guide the management of Oaktree. The management will be confirmed and, says a manager who knows the fund well, will have broad autonomy, within certain financial limits. Oaktree will then aim to maintain Inter’s sporting competitiveness, without destroying the budget. Translated: no pharaonic transfer market, but no fire sales either, with the aim of maximizing profit for himself and his investors.
On the market, however, there is a widespread belief that Oaktree will not sell out anytime soon, but will run the club for a period, awaiting the boost to the Superchampions and stadium accounts. In the meantime, it is possible that the fund does space in the capital for new investors, previously minority ones, then possibly by majority. Meanwhile, while waiting to verify the many hypotheses (perhaps too many as long as Zhang is at the helm), we toast at the Castello Sforzesco. Who knows whether to celebrate the Scudetto, to pay a fitting farewell to the third most successful president in Inter’s history or to welcome the new owners. Probably, for all three things.
