The new ownership group, which is 60% owned by Di Benedetto’s investors and 40% owned by Italian bank UniCredit, has acquired a 67% stake of Roma for Eur70.3 million. Having bought Italpetroli’s stake in the club, Di Benedetto’s group will be obliged to make an offer to purchase the remaining 33% of the club. Roma has been heavily indebted for several years, and the takeover marks the end of a lengthy ownership saga.
“The deal is done...good things don't come easy,” Di Benedetto told a news conference in Boston. “I never felt that I would give up on the quest for this team.” In referring to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s ownership of AC Milan, Di Benedetto added: “Our hope and our objective is to be as successful in Rome as Mr Berlusconi was with his team in Milan.”
Di Benedetto has been a partner of New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox Major League Baseball team and English Premier League side Liverpool. The businessman has declared he would like more players from the local region surrounding the Eternal City of Rome to play for the club.
“If you look around professional soccer today, there are a number of players who grew up in greater Rome,” he added. “It's our goal to have more of them playing for AS Roma. I think we will put in place the people who will make it attractive for these young men to sign with us.”
