Graphics: GT
Chinese appliance retailer Suning Commerce Group announced on Monday it had agreed to buy a controlling stake of nearly 70 percent in top Italian soccer club Inter Milan for 270 million euros ($306.23 million). Experts said it was a sign that China is expanding its influence in global sport.
Suning will subscribe to new shares and buy existing shares in Inter Milan to get its majority stake, the company said at the press conference to announce the deal, which was held on Monday at Suning's headquarters in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province.
"Suning's acquisition provides a good opportunity for China's soccer industry," Liu Tong, an official with the Chinese Football Association, said at the press conference, "China's soccer clubs can take this chance to improve their management and technical levels, and make a greater contribution to China's soccer activity."
"Suning and other Chinese companies' deals with overseas soccer clubs can help China's sports industry expand its popularity and influence all over the world," Zhang Qing, CEO of Beijing Key-Solution Sports Consulting Co, told the Global Times on Monday.
Zhang noted that more and more Chinese soccer players will play abroad in the future as there will be more international communication and flow of talent following this kind of deal.
Suning also said that current majority owner Erick Thohir would reduce his stake in the club to about 30 percent but would stay on as president.
Inter Milan, founded in 1908, has long been one of the top clubs in Italy and has won the league title 18 times, most recently in the 2009-10 season when it also won the UEFA Champions League and the Coppa Italia.
Important step
The deal will help Suning expand into the sports industry and is also of great significance for the company's internationalization, said Zhang Jindong, chairman of Suning.
Suning is accelerating its expansion into sports, as well as the cultural and entertainment sector, said Zhang from Beijing Key-Solution Sports Consulting Co.
Other Chinese investors have also made big moves in the global soccer industry recently.
Dalian Wanda Group signed a deal in March with FIFA to sponsor the next four soccer World Cups, without offering further details of how much it was paying. Wanda also bought a 20 percent stake in Spanish soccer club Atlético Madrid in 2015.
And Rastar Group, an A-share listed company, invested in Spanish soccer club Espanyol in 2015.
Rumours have also been circulating in recent months, saying that Chinese investors are considering buying AC Milan, another top Italian team.
The Chinese companies' moves are an indicator of the boom in China's sports industry, said Zhang from Beijing Key-Solution.
He also noted that this is partly thanks to the rising middle-class population in China and the fact that people are paying more attention to their health.
China's sports industry will have an industrial scale of more than 3 trillion yuan as of 2020, official data indicated in May.
"Government policy has also helped boost the industry," Zhang said, while cautioning that as more Chinese investors eye European soccer teams, their valuations will probably increase.
