AS Roma
The Friedkin Group acquisition · 6 Aug 2020
- Buyer
- The Friedkin Group
- Seller
- James Pallotta (via NEEP Roma Holding S.p.A. / AS Roma SPV LLC)
- Stake acquired
- 86.6%
- Control
- Yes
- Reported consideration
- €63.4m
- Implied equity value
- €73.2m
- League
- Serie A
- Country
- Italy
- Confidence
- HIGH
The Friedkin Group acquired a 86.6% majority stake in AS Roma from James Pallotta (via NEEP Roma Holding S.p.A. / AS Roma SPV LLC), announced 6 Aug 2020, closing 17 Aug 2020.
Reported consideration was €63.4m. That implies a 100% equity value of €73.2m (calculated by us). Announced enterprise value was €591m. €528m of debt was assumed or restructured.
Nearest pre-acquisition revenue was €141m (FY 2019/20), an equity value / revenue multiple of 0.52x.
- Announced
- 6 Aug 2020
- Closed
- 17 Aug 2020
- Stake after transaction
- 86.6%
- Status
- completed
Reported consideration
What the buyer reportedly paid for the stake
Implied 100% equity value
Calculated: consideration ÷ stake acquired
Reported club valuation
Enterprise value
Only shown when debt/cash near the transaction date is established
Debt assumed / restructured
Primary capital injection
Total announced investment commitment
Commitments are not purchase price and not valuation
Nearest pre-acquisition financial year: 2019/20
Revenue
Wages
EBITDA
Net debt
Net income
The widely reported €591m 'sale price' is an enterprise/transaction value, not what Friedkin paid for equity control. CONSOB forced Friedkin to disclose the actual equity consideration for the 86.6% stake: €63.414m (€0.1165/share) — the same per-share price used in the subsequent Art.106 mandatory tender offer for the remaining 13.4%. The gap between €591m and €63.4m (~€527.6m) is overwhelmingly debt, shareholder loans tied to a capital increase, and stadium-financing obligations assumed/committed by the buyer, not cash paid to Pallotta.
- MilanoFinanza — "L'As Roma vale 63,4 milioni, il resto è debito. Interviene la Consob" ↗Tier 3 · top financial media
2020-08-11 · it — “CONSOB pushed for clarification; Friedkin confirmed the consideration for the 86.6% stake is €63,414,047 (€0.1165/share), while the reported €591m operation value is composed almost entirely of debt, intercompany loans and recapitalization commitments (€8.486m other shareholdings, €111.079m shareholder loans, €16.019m stadium financing, plus further indebtedness).”
- Il Sole 24 Ore — "Calcio: la Roma passa al Gruppo Friedkin per 591 milioni di euro" ↗Tier 3 · top financial media
2020-08-06 · it — “Friedkin acquired 86.6% of AS Roma (3.3% direct + 83.3% via Neep Roma Holding S.p.A., plus ASR Soccer LP and ASR Retail TDV) at €0.1165/share; agreement signed overnight August 5–6, 2020, with completion targeted by end of August 2020, ending Pallotta's eight-year tenure.”
- SportsPro — "AS Roma's €591m Friedkin Group takeover goes through" ↗Tier 4 · specialist football business media
2020-08-17 — “Friedkin Group, via Romulus and Remus Investments LLC, acquired 100% of AS Roma SPV LLC (holding ~86.6% of AS Roma) on August 17, 2020, and confirmed it would launch a mandatory tender offer for the remaining 13.4% of shares.”
- Appunti di Luca Marotta — "Bilancio A.S. Roma 2019/20: perdita di 204 milioni di Euro" ↗Tier 4 · specialist football finance blog
2020-11-01 · it — “FY2019/20 filed accounts: consolidated revenue €141.25m (down 39.3% YoY), net loss €204.028m, negative equity €242.448m, negative net financial position €299.76m, gross financial debt €317.5m, personnel costs at 109.8% of revenue.”