Roma shares rise as sale process starts
Reuters - Tuesday 14 September 2010, 12:18
MILAN - The process to sell AS Roma has
started after agreement between the controlling parties,
UniCredit deputy chief executive Paolo Fiorentino said, sending
shares in the Italian football club higher.
Creditor bank UniCredit has been working with owner
Italpetroli for months in an effort to put the club up for sale
and wipe out large debts.
"It went well, there has been a kick off," Fiorentino told
reporters after a meeting on Monday with sale advisor
Rothschild.
He said the sale process had begun with the agreement of
Italpetroli head and club president Rosella Sensi and that
UniCredit, which has de facto control of the club, was
interested in a good result rather than a speedy sale.
Russian media reported on Tuesday that the vice president of
oil company LUKOIL, Leonid Fedun, was interested in purchasing a
controlling stake, but LUKOIL had no comment.
Italian media have listed several other interested parties.
Roma shares were up 10 percent at 1.210 euros at 12:09pm GMT.
Roma, who finished second in the Italian league last season
and were runners-up in the Italian Cup despite their financial
constraints, have been the subject of continual takeover talk
with Italpetroli struggling to deal with arrears.
Creditors have been trying to force a sale for three years
but bids from billionaire financier George Soros and a Swiss
consortium never came to fruition.
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.
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