The news came out of the blue and was more than unexpected, to say the least.
Rumours gathered steam last week that Atalanta were to be the latest Italian side to succumb to American investment. Multiple reports suggested that an investment fund called KKR was closing in on the purchase of La Dea for around €350m ($397m) for an 85% share of the club.
However, KKR representatives swiftly denied any involvement in talks to buy the club, saying the firm had ‘never considered’ an approach to buying Atalanta.
Yet over the weekend the news then did arrive that reports were partially right. Atalanta would be getting new American owners, not KKR, but rather Bain Capital’s co-chairman Stephen Pagliuca.
Pagliuca (no relation to Italian goalkeeping legend Gianluca), co-owner of the Boston Celtics and co-chairman of Boston-based Bain Capital, is heading a group of investors that have bought a 55% stake in Atalanta.
A formal press release was subsequently published by Atalanta, stating that indeed the deal had been agreed between the Percassi family and Pagliuca, who has roots in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
The Percassi family, which has owned the club since 2010, will retain 45% share of the club. Antonio Percassi, current president of the Bergamo side, is set to share duties with Pagliuca, who will become co-chairman. Luca Percassi, Antonio’s son, is set to remain in his capacity as CEO of the club.
As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Pagliuca’s decision to buy Atalanta is not through Bain, but his own venture with other investors after three months of lengthy negotiations and due diligence on the club’s accounts.
It’s thought that Atalanta is valued at around €440m ($498m).
Atalanta are now the latest in a long line of Italian clubs that have been snapped up by North American investors over the last few years. Milan, Roma, Venezia, Parma, Fiorentina, Spezia, Bologna, Pisa, SPAL and Genoa are all owned by investors on the other side of the Atlantic. Genoa were bought out by Miami-based fund 777 Partners just last November.
Unlike some of the aforementioned sides, with the incoming owners inheriting massive debts, Atalanta are arguably the best-run side in Italy. The Percassi family have been held up for years now as model owners for their exceptional running of the club.
With most of the big clubs in Serie A swimming in eye-watering debt, Atalanta are one of the precious few clubs to be in the green. A combination of an excellent youth system, a coach in Gian Piero Gasperini who has transformed Atalanta to be a side far better than the sum of their parts, and selling some of their marquee players for extraordinary profit (known as plusvalenza in Italy) has resulted in the club ending 2020 with revenue of €152m ($172m).
Another key factor that would’ve no doubt appealed to Pagliuca and investors is the fact that Atalanta own their stadium, again, another rarity in Italy. The Percassi family bought the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia from the Bergamo city council in 2017 for around €9m ($10m) and set about renovating it.
The Curva Nord was the first section to undergo work and was reopened in late 2019, and while the pandemic has halted further work, the rest of the stadium is scheduled to be completely renovated by the summer of 2023.
When finished, the 23k-capacity stadium will give Atalanta a massive advantage on many of their rivals with all of the current top six, bar Juventus, in various stages of stadium redevelopment. This issue, which plagued James Pallotta’s time at Roma in the 2010s and has proved equally as frustrating for current Fiorentina owner Rocco Commisso, isn’t something Pagliuca and his partners need to worry about.
The extra revenue will prove pivotal in keeping Atalanta competitive at the summit of Serie A, even if they retain their model of selling one big player every year under the new ownership.
With the number of North American owners now nearly rivalling their Italian equivalents in Serie A, the hope is that an outside perspective can help modernise the league and bring it in line with the 21st century.
But for Atalanta, the future looks positively rosy. Known as la Regina delle provinciali (the Queen of the provinces) for their ability to consistently swim with the sharks in Serie A, but those days are gone.
Everything is now set up for Atalanta to be the new shark in the ocean on a long-term basis, and that’s a good thing for Serie A.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
