Football and finance

Inter Milan steps in with Bank of America to refinance debt

US bank appointed by Oaktree to evaluate all options to refinance the EUR 400 million high-yield bond

10 June 2025

3' min read

The private equity fund Oaktree is working to refinance Inter's debt and one of the world's largest investment banks, Bank of America (Bofa), has come on board for the operation, according to rumours. The goal is to refinance around 400 million euros of high-yield bonds, guaranteed by the sponsorship and media rights of the Nerazzurri club.

According to rumours, Bank of America (which, when contacted, would not comment on the rumours) is considering various refinancing options, from a private placement to private debt funds to the issue of a new bond. A final choice has not yet been made, but it will be crucial to lower the cost of the new financing, compared to the current one.

Bank of America has accumulated a track record in such transactions in the world of football: in the past, it has also been involved in the refinancing of AC Milan and, more recently, was advisor to Elliott in the sale of the club to RedBird Capital Partners. A few years ago, it financed Real Madrid in the renovation of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

The aim is to replace the bonds maturing in February 2027 issued by Inter Media and Communication, the vehicle that holds Inter's television and sponsorship rights. This is a crucial financial step, within the permanence in the capital of the Nerazzurri club by Oaktree, which entered as a shareholder in May 2024, after the Chinese Suning failed to repay a €395 million loan.

The debt refinancing is also an important and fundamental step, along with the definition of the new stadium project in Milan, to attract new shareholders to the club. Oaktree, which is present in the capital through the Global Opportunities vehicle, has made it known on the one hand that it is ready to permanently support Inter in the years to come, but on the other hand it is an investor and, as such, is ready to evaluate any offers that may arrive for the Nerazzurri team.

Some private equity funds and investors, according to rumours, are initially evaluating the dossier, although no concrete negotiations have been initiated at the moment. The main crux remains Oaktree's valuation of Inter. Without going as far as the Premier League cases (Manchester City was sold at 5.5 times turnover, Arsenal at 2.9 times), the historical average of multiples on the sale of European football clubs is around three times turnover, which for Inter will be in the order of 500 million this year. With these numbers, the enterprise value of the Nerazzurri club could reach up to 1.5 billion euros, a figure from which debt must be deducted. This is therefore an important evaluation, in terms of the resources that the new future shareholder will have to put on the plate.

It must be said that, despite the bitter defeat in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, Inter will close on 30 June with the best balance sheet in its history: with the highest revenue ever for an Italian team at around half a billion euros, thanks above all to the approximately 160 million collected (between rights and tickets) in European competitions. The budget should be in the black after the big losses of the past years: numbers that could make the club more attractive to future investors.