American businessman and billionaire Dan Friedkin has just signed a preliminary contract which would lead him to become the new owner of Italian Serie A club AS Roma. It will cost the American businessman a whopping 591 million euros, about 700 million in dollars to finalize the takeover of the Serie A club.
The said amount will be paid to another American businessman and billionaire, James Pallotta who is the main shareholder of AS Roma. Pallotta led other American investors to buy the Italian Serie A club in 2012 but they failed to push the club to compete with the likes of Juventus and Inter Milan.
Just like in recent years at the club, Roma struggled to finish in a Champions League spot but couldn’t. They managed to finish 5th on the Italian Serie A table which means that there would not be a Champions league football for them in the 2020-2021 season.
However, if the Serie A club manages to win the 2019-2020 Europa League, that will qualify them for UEFA Champions League next season. The club is currently in the round of 16 of the competition and they will play their first leg of the round on Thursday evening, August 6.
While announcing that AS Roma is about to have a new owner, the president of the club, James Pallotta confirmed in a statement that the club has signed the preliminary contract and other aspects of the takeover will be completed in the coming days.
“Over the last month, Dan and Ryan Friedkin have demonstrated their total commitment to finalizing this deal and taking the club forward in a positive way. I am sure they will be great future owners for AS Roma”, Pallotta said in the statement.
On his part, Dan Friedkin who serves as the chairman and CEO of Freidken Group, under which the takeover would be carried out, said: “All of us at The Friedkin Group are so happy to have taken the steps to become a part of this iconic city and club.
“We look forward to closing the purchase as soon as possible and immersing ourselves in the AS Roma family.”
Who is Dan Friedkin?
Thomas Daniel Friedkin is a 55-year-old American businessman who acts as the CEO of The Friedkin Group and its subsidiary Gulf States Toyota Distributors. He inherited the company from his late father Thomas Hoyt Friedkin.
As of February 2019, the net worth of the American businessman is estimated to be $4.1 billion.
Besides the Gulf States Toyota Distributors, Dan Friedkin is the founder and chairman of the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation, one of the 9 civilian Heritage Flight pilots qualified to fly in formation with the US. Air Force single-ship demonstration teams.
Dan Friedkin started negotiating the takeover of AS Roma in December 2019 and signed the preliminary contract on August 6, 2020.
The businessman is married to Mrs. Debra. Dan and his wife live in Houston, the United States of America with their four children.
