Another top football club from Serie A passes into foreign hands. Atalanta has recently confirmed the agreement for the entry into the capital of a group of investors led by Stephen Pagliuca.
Percassi will keep a minority stake in the Bergamo club.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio has signed a Partnership Agreement between the Percassi family and a group of investors led by Stephen Pagliuca, Managing Partner and Co-owner of the Boston Celtics, as well as Co-chairman of Bain Capital, one of the main investment funds in the world.
The agreement provides for the entry of new investors with a total stake of 55% in the share capital of La Dea Srl. The Percassi family will keep the 45% stake. La Dea is the sub-holding of the Percassi family, which owns approximately 86% of the share capital of Atalanta.
The Percassi family will remain the main single shareholder and the governance will be the expression of an equal partnership: Antonio and Luca Percassi will continue to hold the position of President and CEO of Atalanta, respectively, while Stephen Pagliuca will be appointed Co-chairman of the Club.
The group of new investors, the club note points out, includes prominent professionals with extensive experience in the football and sports sector in general. Also for this reason, the partnership aims to strengthen the company and the team, with the aim of achieving a further improvement in the sporting and economic results – in addition to the considerable ones – achieved so far.
The commitment is to guarantee the Club an even more international future, increasing the awareness of the brand outside the European borders, expanding the network of talents to which Atalanta has access and opening the doors to new opportunities for commercial collaborations beyond and the use of innovative technologies for the management – sporting and financial – of the Club.
Antonio Percassi, President of Atalanta, said: “We took this opportunity with my family, with the aim of growing our team by choosing to remain linked to the Club, which in over ten years we have brought to results that perhaps no one would have expected from a provincial team. Atalanta, in whose ranks I played in the 60s, are in my heart as well as in the hearts of thousands of fans who support them. Great challenges await us and my belief is that partnerships with such high-profile investors will only accelerate our growth path. “
Stephen Pagliuca, future co-chairman of Atalanta, commented: “We are extremely happy to enter into partnership with the Percassi family and to be of support for the future development of the club. Atalanta and the Boston Celtics share the same sporting values: team spirit and a unique bond with their fans and communities. We believe that the Percassi family has built very solid foundations on which to work together for a global strengthening of the brand, with the aim of encouraging further diversification and revenue growth, allowing the club to become increasingly competitive on an Italian and international scale..”