September 24 – Genoa, Italy’s oldest professional football club, has become the sixth team in Serie A to come under US ownership. Two other clubs in Serie A have foreign ownership.
Miami-based 777 Partners has bought the club from Enrico Preziosi for a reported $178 million which includes taking on the club’s debt. Genoa reported that it lost €33 million during last season’s covid-hit campaign.
The Genoa Cricket and Football clubs was established in 1893 and has won the Italian championship nine times. 777 Partners, which describes itself as “a Miami-based alternative investment firm that invests across a number of high growth attractive verticals”, was founded in 2015 and holds a stake in LaLiga’s Sevilla.
777 Partners will own 99.9% of the share capital in Genoa and as well as assuming the club’s debt will also inject new capital into the club. 777 Partners specifically invest in sports opportunities it feels are undervalued but have have deep connections to their fan bases.
It prides itself on using “its expertise in the sports, media and entertainment industries to help further commercialize the operations of the club.”
Preziosi, will remain on the Club’s Board of Directors, while CEO Alessandro Zarbano will continue to run the day-to-day operations.
“We are profoundly humbled to be a small part of the rich history, heritage and tradition of Genoa,” said Josh Wander, founder and managing partner of 777 Partners. “We understand and respect the responsibility we are inheriting to preserve and protect the proud legacy of the Rossoblu, and we are committed as custodians of that legacy to help the club reclaim its place at the top of Serie A.”
“The time has come to pass the torch,” said Preziosi. “I have always said that I would leave Genoa only to a strong and reliable new owner, and I leave it in the hands of 777 Partners. To them, who will now lead the oldest club in Italy, I wish the best. I will always remain a Rossoblu fan.”
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