The club which previously belonged to Italian businessman
Enrico Preziosi announced on Thursday they have been bought by American private
equity fund 777 Partners as the Italian businessman ends his 18-year ownership
of Italy’s oldest football club.
“The new owner group, which will acquire 99.9 per cent of
Genoa’s share capital, will pay new capital into the club and will assume some
related liabilities,” the statement said.
“The previous owner, Enrico Preziosi, will remain on the
board of directors, while CEO Alessandro Zarboni will continue to manage the
day-to-day operations of the club,” it added.
Preziosi, 73, took over Genoa, who were founded by
Englishmen in 1893 as a cricket and athletics club, in 2003 with the nine-time
Italian champions in the hands of liquidators.
Genoa fans have had little to cheer about since Preziosi’s
arrival though, winning no trophies and only finishing in the top 10 once in
the past 10 seasons.
When they did, taking sixth place in 2015, they were denied
a place in the Europa League as they were unable to obtain a UEFA licence from
the Italian Football Federation.
Their place was given to their local rivals Sampdoria, who
finished seventh.
They even spent one season in the third-tier Serie C1 early
in Preziosi’s tenure, when their 2005 promotion to Serie A was cancelled and
they were relegated after authorities found evidence of fixing of their final
game of the campaign against Venezia, won 3-2 by Genoa.
The scandal was to become infamous in Italy as a few days
after the game, which Genoa needed to win to assure themselves of a place in
Italy’s top flight, Venezia director Giuseppe Pagliari was stopped by police
near the headquarters of Preziosi’s toy company with a suitcase containing
250,000 euros in cash.
777, who reportedly hold a stake in La Liga side Sevilla,
are a private investment firm based in Miami.
They invest in six broad industries: insurance, consumer and
commercial finance, litigation finance, direct lending, media and entertainment
and aviation.
“We understand and respect the responsibility we are
inheriting, we want to preserve and protect the proud Rossoblu heritage by
aiming for the best possible positions in Serie A,” 777 founder Josh Wander
said.
In a July press release, the company said it operates a
portfolio of nearly 50 companies and that it has amassed $6 billion in assets
since its inception.
Their most recent acquisitions are insurance companies
Synchrono Group in August 2021, for $3.2 million and Ensurem in March 2021 for
an undisclosed amount.
777 also agreed to purchase insurer Randall & Quilter
for almost $100 million in April 2020, a deal which is reportedly “pending”.
Other deals include the sports-focused streaming platform
Fanatiz for $10 million in January last year and Canadian ultra-low-cost
airline Flair in April 2019.
777 Partners also ordered 24 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes back
in March