Oaktree Capital Ready To Take Over Inter Milan From Suning & Sell To Buyer Already Identified

Oaktree are ready to take over Inter Milan from Suning and sell the club quickly.

This according to Italian business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, via FCInterNews. The newspaper report that the US-based fund have even already identified a likely buyer.

The deadline for Inter owners Suning to pay back their debt to Oaktree is now just a couple days away.

Monday, the twentieth is the decisive day. However, it will actually be Tuesday the 21st considering that Monday is a public holiday in Luxembourg.

In any event, Suning must repay their debt to Oaktree in full by that point, or else default. The Inter owners owe the €275 million loan plus interest, totalling over €380 million.

Should Suning default, then their shares in Inter would pass into the hands of Oaktree per the agreement from the spring of 2021.

The Nerazzurri owners have been working to refinance the loan.

There have been talks with another US fund, PIMCO, in the last few weeks. These have been with a view to Suning taking on a sizable new loan.

That would allow the Inter owners to refinance their debt to Oaktree. They would then be able to stay at the helm.

However, those negotiations appear to be right on the verge of breaking down.

Oaktree Capital Ready To Take Over Inter From Suning & Sell

The big question then is what will happen if Suning are to default their debt to Oaktree.

Per the agreement when the loan was made in 2021, Oaktree would have the right to repossess Suning’s controlling stake in the Nerazzurri.

However, there has never been any indication that the US-based fund intends to become the new owners of Inter.

Oaktree are not in the football business. And they have no desire to be.

Nevertheless, Il Sole 24 Ore reports, Oaktree would be ready to begin the process of taking over at Inter as soon as Suning fail to meet their obligations, presuming that the current Inter owners do.

This would not be with a view to running Inter in the long term, however.

Far from it. Oaktree would instead intend to sell the club very quickly.

Il Sole 24 Ore report that the US fund already have a clear idea of who they will sell Inter to. The newspaper does not, however, name that potential buyer.

But Oaktree’s intention would very much be to take control of Inter from Suning. And then get right to work on the sale of the club to this buyer.

One major potential complicating factor, however, would be a legal battle.

Inter President Steven Zhang released a statement today attacking Oaktree.

The President’s statement hinted at legal obstructions and a lack of cooperation by Oaktree in Suning’s attempts to refinance.