777 Partners, a Miami-based alternative investment firm, has acquired full ownership of Genoa Cricket and Football Club, Italy’s oldest professional football team.
Genoa CFC (Genoa), which plays in Italy’s prestigious Serie A, was established in 1893 and has won the Italian championship nine times.
The new ownership group will purchase 99.9 per cent of the share capital in Genoa, inject fresh capital into the club and will assume certain related liabilities. 777 Partners will use its expertise in the sports, media and entertainment industries to help further commercialise the operations of the club. The Club’s previous owner, Enrico Preziosi, will remain on the Club’s Board of Directors, while CEO Alessandro Zarbano will continue to run the day-to-day operations of the Club.
“We are profoundly humbled to be a small part of the rich history, heritage and tradition of Genoa,” says Josh Wander, Founder and Managing Partner of 777 Partners. “We understand and respect the responsibility we are inheriting to preserve and protect the proud legacy of the Rossoblu, and we are committed as custodians of that legacy to help the club reclaim its place at the top of Serie A.”
“The time has come to pass the torch,” says Preziosi. “I have always said that I would leave Genoa only to a strong and reliable new owner, and I leave it in the hands of 777 Partners. To them, who will now lead the oldest club in Italy, I wish the best. I will always remain a Rossoblu fan.”
The investment was led by Josh Wander and Steve Pasko, the founders of 777 Partners, as well as Juan Arciniegas, the managing director who oversees the firm’s sports, media and entertainment investments, and Andres Blazquez, the operating partner who helps manage the firm’s football investments.
