Chinese Conglomerate’s $2.3 Billion Share Sale Raises Concerns for Inter Milan
- Suning.com, parent face high near-term repayment pressure
- Chinese soccer club owned by Suning will cease operations
Photographer: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
The decision by embattled Chinese conglomerate Suning Appliance Group Co. to shut down a soccer club in its hometown of Jiangsu is raising concerns that the next to get entangled in the indebted company’s efforts to raise cash could be its prize asset in Italy, FC Internazionale Milano SpA.
In a bid to ease debt payment pressure, the appliance retailer said Sunday that state-owned Shenzhen International Holdings Ltd. and Shenzhen Kunpeng Equity Investment Management Co. planned to purchase 8% and 15% of Suning.com.’s shares, respectively, paying a total of 14.8 billion yuan ($2.3 billion). Jiangsu Football Club, owned by Suning since 2015, said over the weekend that it would cease operations, without elaborating. Suning.com Co., the key listed unit, jumped by the daily limit of 10% after shares resumed trading Monday in Shenzhen.