Suning Holdings Group, led by Chinese billionaire Zhang Jindong, is set to take ownership of Portugal’s historic Algarve football club, Portimonense SAD (which stands for Sociedade Anónima Desportiva, a form of public limited sports company common in Portugal) – according to local media in Algarve.
Suning reportedly purchased the second-division club for 80 million euros (US$87.64 million), along with the Estádio Municipal de Portimão stadium and Portimonense SAD’s under-23 training grounds. The transfer in ownership is expected to take place over the next 12 months.
Nanjing-headquartered Suning Holdings – one of China’s biggest privately owned retail companies – has already owned the now-defunct Jiangsu Suning Football Club and most recently, the Italian giant Inter Milan. Zhang’s son, Steven Zhang, became the highly successful team’s youngest ever chairman in 2018 at just 26-years-old.
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Suning Holdings pulled out of Inter Milan in May this year, forfeiting its ownership to US investment firm Oaktree Capital Management to help cover debts of around US$428 million, South China Morning Post reported.
Portimonense SAD, based in the southern Portuguese city of Portimão, was founded in 1914. The club reached its peak in the 1980s. During that decade, while playing in Portugal’s top-tier Primeira Liga, it competed in Europe’s UEFA Cup once and reached the semifinals of Taça de Portugal three times.
The club performed poorly in the 1990s and 2000s, falling as low as Portugal’s third division. It went on to the country’s 2016-17 second division championship – propelling Portimonense SAD back into the first division, where it remained until last season. Its current majority shareholder is reportedly Theo Fonseca, who took over in 2014.
