According to Italian media outlet Football & Finance, Suning's media company
A number of the company's creditors have requested the assistance of the Shanghai court through the Hong Kong, China court to claim the money owed to them. According to documents viewed by Football & Finance, the Hong Kong court in China recently dealt with a request from four creditors against PP Sports.
PP Sports was established in 2017 and subsequently acquired the rights to broadcast the Premier League in China for the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. However, on August 26, 2020, PP Sports announced in a letter to the Premier League its decision to terminate the agreement without paying the fees due. The Premier League consequently filed a lawsuit and in January 2022 obtained a favorable judgment from the English High Court.
After investigating the company's financial situation, the liquidators found that PP Sports had four major creditors with a total debt of approximately €300 million, some of which was intra-group. These are as follows: English Premier League Limited: approximately €206 million Great Mercury LTD (another Zhang family company): approximately €73 million Shanghai Bank: €20.9 million California law firm Quinn Emanuel: approximately €500,000
The Hong Kong, China, court explained that "although the liquidator has communicated with the parties in relation to the above investigation, no substantive response has been received." The Hong Kong, China, court had requested the Shanghai Third Intermediate People's Court to "recognize and assist in the liquidation of the company and its liquidators" in accordance with the judgment. If the court in Shanghai agrees, creditors will be able to recover the amounts owed by the Zhang family companies.
This legal action shows that PPTV's
debt problem
has reached the international level and has had an impact on
Suning Group
and its media companies pose significant challenges to its financial position. The creditors' recovery actions may further affect Suning Group's operations and reputation. As the case develops, the response and handling of the relevant parties will be highly scrutinized.
