China Railway to buy stake in soccer team

China Railway Construction (601186.SHA, 1186.HKG) will buy a 15% stake in Italian soccer club, Inter Milan, from the controlling Moratti family for a total of US$611 million, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. According to official statements filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, China Railway said that neither the company nor its units are included in the investment group and that the firm will not be involved in the negotiations. Hong Kong-based QSL Sports will be included in the investment group, sources said, and others in the group have not been named. Inter Milan indicated that China Railway will also collaborate with the soccer team’s other partners to construct a new stadium. According to Masterlink Securities (2856.TPE) analyst James Chung, China Railway’s offer is completely unexpected. “It has nothing to do with their core business and I have no idea why they’ve done this,” he said.