Chinese private equity fund LionRock Capital bought a 31.05% stake in Inter Milan from Indonesian businessman and former club Owner Erick Thohir, according to Giulio Piovaccari of REUTERS. No financial details of the transaction were disclosed. Inter Milan was taken over in '16 by Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group, which bought a 68.55% stake from Thohir for €270M (REUTERS, 1/25). SERPENTS OF MADONNINA's Matthew Clark wrote Inter Milan President Steven Zhang said that the new minority ownership "comes at a good time" for the club after "strong financial gains" during the '17-18 season. Zhang: "This gives us full confidence for the future development of the club and has led to the interest of LionRock Capital. In addition to this partnership, we also look forward to establishing further global sporting and commercial relationships." LionRock Capital Founder & MD Daniel Kar Keung Tseung said that LionRock is "very optimistic about the business development prospects" for Inter Milan. Tseung: "LionRock Captial will fully support Inter's key objective to make the club one of the world's top football clubs both on and off the pitch" (SERPENTS OF MADONNINA, 1/25).
