Oaktree Capital is interested in making a significant investment in Serie A broadcaster DAZN. Bloomberg reported via FCINTERNEWS that the ** could get further involved in Italian football, after the ** had already made a huge loan to Inter Milan owner Suning. The name Oaktree Capital will be familiar to Inter Milan fans.
The Midea-based ** gave about 2A huge loan of 7.5 billion euros. This happened at a time when Suning and Inter were at their worst financially troubled due to the pandemic. The pandemic has led to a significant drop in revenue for Inter Milan and all football clubs due to a lack of matchday ticket revenue. It's a similar story for retail giant Suning. As a result, Inter found themselves facing a serious debt and liquidity crisis in 2021. This means that the club is unable to cover operating costs.
2. Oaktree Capital offers 2The €7.5 billion loan is essential for Suning to continue operating Inter Milan and cover operating costs. But it is also a major factor in the continued financial constraints on the club's operations. Inter Milan had to play with the likes of Achraf Hakimi, Romelu Lukaku and Andre Onana. And most of them have to rely on low-cost reinforcements from the other direction. Meanwhile, Oaktree Capital's loan is due in May next year.
Suning used Inter as collateral. As a result, if they fail to repay the loan, including interest, by the maturity date, the current owners run the risk of control of the club falling into the hands of Oaktree Capital. This is a key factor that has sparked speculation and uncertainty about Suning's future at Inter. The Nerazzurri boss has a couple of options. They did not have the opportunity to repay the entire debt of Oaktree Capital in a timely manner. One of them is Suning ** Inter in order to take advantage of the opportunity to make money.
The other is for the Nerazzurri owners to refinance their debt. This seems to be Suning's first choice. Now, Oaktree Capital has further demonstrated its interest in sports. The company hopes to raise more than $1 billion in investment streams to serve DAZN. In addition to this, DAZN also owns the broadcasting rights of the Italian Serie A. Bloomberg reports that negotiations are still in their infancy. But over the next few months, Oaktree Capital will seriously consider raising the necessary capital to make the investment.