CHINESE REVOLUTION FOR INTER
Historic agreement: new stadium and 55 million to keep pace with other big clubs.
New investors, for now, have 15%. Three new members on the board of directors. Moratti: “The quota of shares will rise but under my control.”
AN ANCIENT BOND
Millions of fans, the tour in 1978, the Super Cup and commercial ties: Inter and China have always been united.
1. The relationship between Inter and China dated back to June of 1978 with the first tour in Asia. And over the years, the relationship became closer and closer and here is the sponsor Pirelli written in ideograms on the shirt in 2006-2007.
2. The official club’s website also has its own homepage in Chinese.
3. The fans welcomed Inter to Beijing before the Italian Super Cup in 2011. The team has 85 million fans in China.
4. The meeting yesterday between president Massimo Moratti and representatives of new Chinese investors in Kenneth Huang and Ms. Kamchi Li.
That red shirt gifted on May 22 by Massimo Moratti to Fengchao Meng, the president of China Railway Construction Corportation, was not a coincidence but the harbinger of the historic agreement signed last night. A group of Chinese investors have made their way to the capital of Inter initially at 15% which has a value of 55 million euros (the total, including debt, is about 365 million euros) then they can get up to perhaps 40%. The Moratti family will continue to maintain control of the club. But starting today, however, there is a strong new ally, willing to contribute to the recovery of Inter’s financial status. The agreement also marks the start of a collaboration with China Railway 15th Bureau Group (a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation) for the construction of a new proprietary stadium by 2017. The business around the new building was the main thing to convince the Chinese to invest in Italian football, a new era, even more so at a time of crisis with money flying abroad from Italy. In the coming months, the area of the stadium will be identified and start the paperwork. The Mayor of Milan Pisapia has proposed the Expo era on the border with Rho to Moratti as a possibility.
The area chosen for the new stadium.
Visit In these very difficult times, Moratti traveled to China to test waters, looking for strong partners that can support him in an adventure that is untenable. That meeting with the high level executives and president Fengchao Meng ended with great enthusiasm. The official statement from China Railway Construction Corporation that day was that Inter have tens of millions of fans in China, Moratti is a legendary figure and that “we are willing to participate in an all-around cooperation with Inter and the construction of a new stadium would be a good starting point, a good beginning for bilateral cooperation.” That was said and it was done. The Chinese will be in Milan in a few days in view of defining the deal. Last night, the decisive meeting took place at the headquarters of UBS bank with president Massimo Moratti, vice president Rinaldo Ghelfi and Angelomario Moratti as well as lawyer Angelo Capellini. The Nerazzurri have been assisted by Four Partners Advisory Sim and Lazard as financial advisers and Cleary Gottieb Steen and Hamilton as legal advisers. The counterparty and China Railway 15th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. have been assisted by Gallipos AG and UBS AG as financial advisers and by Studio Legale Associato Negri-Clementi as legal adviser.
Board of directors The Chinese team will be guaranteed with the presence of Kamchi Li, Fabrizio Rindi and Kennet Huang as members of the board of directors in October. The last one is the chairman of QSL Sport Ltd. and has been serving as a liaison between the construction groups and Inter. He will also be the one that will develop the market for Inter in the Far East. Moratti, who today will be in Split for the first game of the season, talked to Sky about this news: “I am extremely happy because the stadium project has become concrete. Inter will be stronger, and the participation of the Chinese will increase even if they remain a minority shareholder. Now I don’t want to say that Inter will spend and spend. We are there on Lucas but no bidding war.”
Source: Gazzetta dello Sport
