New takeover

[blythspartan]

This sounds feasible tbf. Plus, there assets total $12 billion.

[windermereROYAL]

So all top flight clubs probably making profits to us haemorrhaging money? that makes sense.

[Brogue]

they have been linked with Everton, west ham, and very recently Sheff Utd. Their main priority is an investment in the English leagues.

[Stranded]

So all top flight clubs probably making profits to us haemorrhaging money? that makes sense.

They likely see the club as undervalued and with the potential to play at a higher level with the right investment. Hard to warm to an investment company looking at taking over but they should at least be able to pay the bills and likely leave the football people alone to do the football stuff.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Their strategy talks about identifying undervalued assets. That will be us thanks to Dai's tenure. I don't really know enough. A lot of people like to assume US private equity is bad, and of course they will be looking to profit from us. But if that profit is through getting us up the leagues and performing better, what's the problem? They certainly can't make any sizeable return on us in L1.

[Brogue]

Their strategy talks about identifying undervalued assets. That will be us thanks to Dai's tenure. I don't really know enough. A lot of people like to assume US private equity is bad, and of course they will be looking to profit from us. But if that profit is through getting us up the leagues and performing better, what's the problem? They certainly can't make any sizeable return on us in L1.

Exactly this, they will be in this for the sole reason of looking for an ROI. And they won't get a ROI in league one, they will have to get us up the leagues to do that. Which bodes well.

[Royalwaster]

its an American investment fund called 777 Partners. They got wind of the club being for sale after George Puscas deal - they own 99% of Genoa

They have stakes in;

Sevilla FC 7.5%
Genoa C.F.C 99%
CR Vasco da Gama 70%
Standard Liège 100%
Red Star F.C 100%
Melbourne Victory FC - unsure - minority stake
Hertha BSC 64.7%

Red Star FC is a third tier French Club - not to be confused with Red Star Belgrade.

[Stranded]

Admittedly from Wiki but seems they are not well liked - which as an investment vehicle is hardly surprising.

Founded in 2015 by Steven Pasko and Josh Wander as the result of a management buyout of SuttonPark Capital from PennantPark, 777 Partners initially applied its expertise in underwriting and financing esoteric assets to diversify across a broad spectrum of financial services businesses, asset originators, and financial technology/service providers. In recent years,[when?] the firm has broadened its mandate and now invests across seven afformentioned industries.[4]

Its first investment in soccer was to purchase a minority stake in Spanish La Liga club Sevilla FC in 2018.[5] In 2020, it elevated its share to 7.5%.[6]

In September 2021, 777 Partners bought 99.99% of Italian Serie A club Genoa C.F.C., the country's oldest club, founded in 1893. It became the sixth club in the league to have an American owner, and the transaction to buy the club from long-term owner Enrico Preziosi was estimated at €150 million.[7] The club hired former A.C. Milan and Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko in November, firing him in January 2022;[8] Genoa ended the season relegated (as did another US-owned team, Venezia FC),[9] but were immediately promoted back into the top division in May 2023.

In February 2022, 777 Partners bought 70% of CR Vasco da Gama, a Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club from Rio de Janeiro for R$700 million, valuing the club at R$1.7 billion. The transaction was the biggest in the history of Brazilian football, and came off the back of a change in legislation allowing clubs to adopt new legal structures by becoming limited companies and sourcing finance from private equity markets.[10][11] There have been various protests against the ownership of the club due to the perceived lack of investment and poor league positioning. Under its ownership, Vasco da Gama has had its worse start ever to a league season.[12]

In March 2022, 777 Partners bought 100% of Standard Liège in the Belgian Pro League for €55 million.[13] The following month, it bought Red Star F.C. of the French third-tier Championnat National; the club was founded in 1897 by Jules Rimet, who was later president of FIFA. The takeover was met with backlash due to the club's working-class and left-wing history, and concerns that the club would become a farm team for 777's other assets. Former presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon was one of several politicians to sign a letter published in Le Monde, stating "For us, Red Star is a common good that cannot be sacrificed on the altar of profit."[14]

In October 2022, 777 Partners bought a minority stake in Melbourne Victory FC of the Australian A-League Men.[15] The following March, the company took a 64.7% stake in Hertha BSC of the German Bundesliga after its sale by Lars Windhorst, who had been majority shareholder since 2019.[16]

In 2019, 777 Partners bought the London Lions, London's sole professional basketball team. They then invested £7 million for 45% of the British Basketball League (BBL). Under 777, the Lions and the BBL have garnered significant attention, having sold a slight minority stake in the London Lions to O.G. Anunoby and becoming the first British team to ever qualify for EuroCup playoffs.[17]

Outside of sports, 777 has assets in aviation. It owns Canadian company Flair Airlines and Australian based Bonza, both of which are low-cost carriers.[5][18] It also invests in and develops travel technology under its "GO7" subdivision, which provides ticketing and distribution services to over 185 network, low-cost carriers, regional airlines and rail operations globally

[Stranded]

Hertha were relegated last season but 777 only got involved in March, so no chance to invest to avoid the drop. Worth noting that the DFB (German FA) are closely looking at the set up there as although the deal is technically in line with the 50+1 rule, there is concern that 777 hold sway over all votes rather than 51% being independant of the owners.

[YorkshireRoyal99]

Any takeover for me sounds promising. I don't think you'll ever get an ownership model that satisfies everyone and, whilst it seems as if they might have their faults, any news is good news for us. In order for them to turn a profit with is, they'd have to improve our league performance and make us sustainable again, which is exactly what we want at this moment in time as well.

[Esteban]

So all top flight clubs probably making profits to us haemorrhaging money? that makes sense.

They likely see the club as undervalued and with the potential to play at a higher level with the right investment. Hard to warm to an investment company looking at taking over but they should at least be able to pay the bills and likely leave the football people alone to do the football stuff.

Unfortunately, we appear to be in the last chance saloon and that often attracts cowboys! But as you quite rightly say, as long as they take care of the bills and leave footballing matters to Bowen and Co, it will be a far better situation than we are in now.

[Sutekh]

I think it'll be an additional investment split, e.g. 45% with 777 leaving Dai with the controlling 55%. Anyway we shall have to wait and see...

[Stranded]

I think it'll be an additional investment split, e.g. 45% with 777 leaving Dai with the controlling 55%. Anyway we shall have to wait and see...

Could be a similar model to Melbourne, where they buy in say 25% now with a commitment to purchase more shares to take full control by 2028.

[Royalwaster]

I think it'll be an additional investment split, e.g. 45% with 777 leaving Dai with the controlling 55%. Anyway we shall have to wait and see...

Could be a similar model to Melbourne, where they buy in say 25% now with a commitment to purchase more shares to take full control by 2028.

Yes exactly - and that's why the transaction can go through quickly as it's not a complete takeover and how they can pay off the bill by tomorrow. Actually reading the wiki page, none of the protests sound that serious - no suggestion that they are an asset stripper or anything like that.

[Clyde1998]

I think it'll be an additional investment split, e.g. 45% with 777 leaving Dai with the controlling 55%. Anyway we shall have to wait and see...

Could be a similar model to Melbourne, where they buy in say 25% now with a commitment to purchase more shares to take full control by 2028.

Yes exactly - and that's why the transaction can go through quickly as it's not a complete takeover and how they can pay off the bill by tomorrow. Actually reading the wiki page, none of the protests sound that serious - no suggestion that they are an asset stripper or anything like that.

This. It sounds like the main protests are about the owners not spending shedloads of money, which quite frankly isn't something anyone should be worried about as long as they'll pay the staff, pay tax and provide enough funds for us to compete at a reasonable level. Also there's no indication they take footballing decisions, another big plus as I think the current staff is competent just lacking the ability to carry out their plan.

[Sutekh]

Could be a similar model to Melbourne, where they buy in say 25% now with a commitment to purchase more shares to take full control by 2028.

Yes exactly - and that's why the transaction can go through quickly as it's not a complete takeover and how they can pay off the bill by tomorrow. Actually reading the wiki page, none of the protests sound that serious - no suggestion that they are an asset stripper or anything like that.

This. It sounds like the main protests are about the owners not spending shedloads of money, which quite frankly isn't something anyone should be worried about as long as they'll pay the staff, pay tax and provide enough funds for us to compete at a reasonable level. Also there's no indication they take footballing decisions, another big plus as I think the current staff is competent just lacking the ability to carry out their plan.

Oh, the thought of having competent backroom staff being able to get on with a proper "plan".

Plus the thought that maybe we'll have an investor who might actually speak to media and even supporters....

[Linden Jones' Tash]

https://football-italia.net/genoa-docke ... e-b-table/


As has been mentioned elsewhere...

Football clubs not paying tax is more common than it seems....

[Snowflake Royal]

The problem with an investment group is that their obvious goal is to make a return.

Football finances are in an abysmal state and making a return on most PL clubs is hard enough, let alone L1 or worse Championship.

So either they're clueless, and given how many clubs they've invested in they must have some appreciation for how shocking football finance is, they're looking to wash some money, or they think they can make a quick buck by getting us back up cheaply and selling on at a higher price quickly. Because the longer they have a stake in us, the less likely they are to make any sort of return.

On the plus side, it shouldn't be too expensive to get us back up within a few years, and if they just pay the bills it'd be a start.

[Elm Park Kid]

The problem with an investment group is that their obvious goal is to make a return.

Football finances are in an abysmal state and making a return on most PL clubs is hard enough, let alone L1 or worse Championship.

So either they're clueless, and given how many clubs they've invested in they must have some appreciation for how shocking football finance is, they're looking to wash some money, or they think they can make a quick buck by getting us back up cheaply and selling on at a higher price quickly. Because the longer they have a stake in us, the less likely they are to make any sort of return.

On the plus side, it shouldn't be too expensive to get us back up within a few years, and if they just pay the bills it'd be a start.

The strategy will be to gamble on us getting into the Prem and then selling - it's certainly not trying to make any ongoing profits.

That might seem far fetched, but consider that there is probably like a 10 times multiplier of what the club is worth now and what it's worth in the PL.

[3points]

if you look at the Italian guy who bought Leeds when they were in the Champ, then he's made a great profit when you compare his selling price(s) to his purchase price. However, difficult to tell without further analysis about how much he had to spend (or borrow) to generate that profit.

But it's clearly the model that any "financial investor" looks to take. Buy low, sell high.