(Bloomberg) -- Italy's Genoa Cricket and Football Club is the latest Serie A team to draw U.S. capital, with the acquisition by alternative investment firm 777 Partners.
The Miami-based fund will buy 99.9% of Genoa's share capital, inject cash and assume certain liabilities, according to a statement Thursday. Terms weren't disclosed.
Serie A, home to players including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, needs cash after decades of underinvestment. The league and its teams have seen their finances further hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, which cut broadcast and game-day revenue.
Foreign private equity funds targeting under-performing assets have already pounced on financially-stretched Italian clubs. In 2018, Elliott Management Corp. took control of AC Milan, while in May Oaktree Capital Group agreed to bailout Inter Milan. U.S. billionaire Dan Friedkin bought AS Roma in 2020.
Apart from Genoa, Italy's oldest soccer club, founded in 1893, 777 Partners also owns a significant stake in Spain's club Sevilla FC.
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