Roma set for sale in proposed bank deal
Reuters - Thursday 08 July 2010, 22:06
ROME - Serie A side AS Roma will be put up
for sale as part of a proposed deal between the club's owners
and creditor bank UniCredit to wipe out debts.
"The primary objective (will be) to go ahead with the
valuation and the sale ... of the AS Roma shareholding," club
owner Italpetroli said in a statement.
Roma, who finished second in the Italian top flight last
season and were runners-up in the Italian Cup, have been the
subject of continual takeover talk with owners Italpetroli
struggling to deal with the arrears.
Rosella Sensi, of the family who have majority control of
Italpetroli, will continue to run AS Roma while the hunt goes on
for a buyer, the statement said.
"This deal has been reached ... above all to safeguard AS
Roma, which is something that matters to (Rome) and which we all
hold very dear," Rosella Sensi said, according to ANSA news
agency.
Italpetroli and UniCredit will hammer out a more detailed
agreement to sort out debts by July 20.
Creditors have been trying to force a sale of AS Roma for
three years but bids from billionaire financier George Soros and
a Swiss consortium never came to fruition and Italpetroli clung
on against the odds.
A lack of spending power in the transfer market hit the
team's prospects in the 2008/09 campaign and Roma could only
finish sixth that season, although they spectacularly bounced
back to form last term despite reining in costs.
Rosella Sensi took over as Roma president from her late
father Franco in 2008 and has held out to carry on heading the
club she loves.
Her side almost rewarded her in May but just failed to
snatch the Italian title off Inter Milan after coach Claudio
Ranieri performed a near miracle having taken over from Luciano
Spalletti with the team in crisis just two games in.
ADRIANO LATE
There have been months of talks with UniCredit, which is
owed 325 million euros by the Sensi family as
the main creditor and several sniffs at a purchase have
evaporated.
Soros and the Swiss consortium have not shown renewed
interest while Italian pharmaceutical magnate Francesco Angelini
has never put forward concrete plans for a bid after saying he
wanted to buy a majority stake in the club.
The period of uncertainty is unlikely to have an immediate
impact on the club, who are expected to be quiet in the transfer
market and have already made their big close-season signing.
Former Inter striker Adriano is that showcase new buy,
although the controversial Brazilian did not make a good start
by arriving almost two days late for his first day because of
bureaucratic problems with his son.
Adriano has battled drink and personal problems in the past.
Roma face Inter in the Italian Super Cup on August 21 in Milan
before the Serie A season starts on August 28.
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