ROME (Reuters) – U.S. billionaire Dan Friedkin has signed a deal to purchase the Italian Serie A soccer club AS Roma, the club said on Thursday.
Roma said formal contracts with the Friedkin Group were signed on Wednesday for a transaction valued at 591 million euros ($702 million). The transaction is anticipated to close by the of the month.
“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,” AS Roma president James Pallotta said in a statement.
“Over the last month, Dan and Ryan Friedkin have demonstrated their total commitment to finalizing 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 U.S. investors led by Pallotta bought AS Roma in 2012.
Pallotta, a businessman of Italian descent, struggled to revive the fortunes of the club, which won the last of its three Serie A titles in 2001, and has seen his plans to build a new stadium frustrated by planning issues.
(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Kevin Liffey)
