News about D.C. United owners buying and selling teams was finally made official on Sunday. First up, Swansea City announced on their website that DCU Managing General Partner Jason Levien, as part of an ownership group that includes his former Memphis Grizzlies partner Steve Kaplan, would be purchasing 60% of the club in the club. The only hurdle that remains is ratification of the deal from the Premier League. The Swans' supporters trust will see their 21.1% share of the club unchanged, while members of the current board will be selling some or all of their shares, depending on the individual. The BBC reports that Levien's group would like to buy the Swans' stadium outright in order to expand capacity, though that is presumably on a longer timeline.
Meanwhile in China, DCU Managing Partner (and Inter Milan President/Majority Owner) Erick Thohir is part of a press conference Monday morning to announce the sale of about half of his ownership stake, and all of Massimo Moratti's, to the Chinese group Suning. The details will be announced tomorrow, but it is assumed that Thohir will retain approximately 30% of the stake in Inter with Suning starting at 70% and eventually purchasing the whole of the club. Jiangsu Suning FC, whose roster includes former Chelsea player Ramires and Brazilian players Jo and Alex Teixeira, announced the sale on their twitter account:
Official : Suning group officially acquired Italian International Milan Football Club!! #Forzasuning #forzainter pic.twitter.com/3Kn0h6mEOM
— Jiangsu (@JiangsuSuningFC) June 5, 2016
It is being reported that no new debt is being placed on Swansea City as part of the Levien-Kaplan transaction, and it remains to be seen if Suning will assume any debt on Inter. DCU's stadium at Buzzard Point continues to be on course for a 2018 opening, but at some point Thohir and/or Levien are going to need to spell out some sort of plan for the Black-and-Red at a non-stadium event or two because their silence on subjects that aren't the new building remains discouraging.