August 6 – An exciting new era looks in store for Roma, with Texas-based Italian-American billionaire Dan Friedkin signing a deal to purchase the famed Serie A side.
Roma said formal contracts with the Friedkin Group were agreed on Wednesday with the transaction valued at €591 million and the deal anticipated to close by end of the month. The deal had reportedly been revised downward from an initial €750 million.
“We have signed the contracts tonight and, over the coming days, will now work together to complete the formal and legal process that will result in the club changing hands,” Roma president James Pallotta said in a statement.
“Over the last month, Dan and Ryan Friedkin have demonstrated their total commitment to finalising this deal and taking the club forward in a positive way. I am sure they will be great future owners for AS Roma.”
A group of US investors led by Pallotta bought AS Roma in 2012 but struggled to rekindle the glory days of the past, with the club winning the last of its three Serie A titles back in 2001.
Friedkin Group will acquire the 86.6% controlled by the club’s existing ownership group led by Pallotta.
Roma missed out on qualification for next season’s Champions League after finishing fifth in Serie A but have a second chance if they can lift the Europa League though they have a tough last-16 tie against Sevilla on Thursday.
“All of us at The Friedkin Group are so happy to have taken the steps to become a part of this iconic city and club,” Freidken Group chairman and CEO Dan Friedkin, a Houston-based entrepreneur, said in a statement. “We look forward to closing the purchase as soon as possible and immersing ourselves in the AS Roma family.”
Reports of a late offer from a Kuwaiti group fronted by Fahad Al-Baker surfaced earlier this month, but The Friedkin Group have now officially won the race.
The pandemic has hammered Serie A club revenues and the league is currently reviewing a number of €2.5bn-plus private equity bids that would provide either loans or take an equity stake.
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