Boston Celtics Co-Owner Stephen Pagliuca Leads Group Purchasing Majority Stake of Atalanta

Boston Celtics co-owner and managing partner Stephen Pagliuca heads an American investment group that has agreed to a partnership with the Percassi family, who own Atalanta, a Serie A Italian football club.

Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki

According to Football Italia, Boston Celtics co-owner and managing partner Stephen Pagliuca heads an American investment group that has agreed to a partnership with the Percassi family, who own Atalanta, a Serie A Italian football club.

Pagliuca, who's also the co-chairman of Bain Capital, one of the world's leading investment funds, heads a group buying a 55 percent stake in Dea Srl ("Dea"), the sub-holding of the Percassi family, which owns approximately 86 percent of Atalanta’s share capital, for an amount estimated to be over US$453 million.

The Percassi family remains the largest individual shareholder, and Antonio and Luca Percassi will retain their respective roles as president and CEO of the Club, while Pagliuca will become co-president of Atalanta.

As part of the announcement, Antonio Percassi expressed a desire to expand the Club's profile outside of Europe.

The Atalanta, in whose ranks I played in the 60s, is and will be in my heart as in the hearts of thousands of fans who support it. Great challenges await us, and my conviction is that partnering with such high-profile investors will accelerate our growth path.

”We are delighted to partner with the Percassi family and support the future development of the Club," Pagliuca said.

"Atalanta and Boston Celtics share common sporting values: teamwork and an extraordinary relationship with fans and the community. We believe that the Percassi family has built a very solid foundation on which to work together to strengthen the brand globally, with the aim of encouraging further diversification and revenue growth, allowing the club to become increasingly competitive on the Italian and international scene.”

Atalanta has qualified for the Champions League and come in third in Serie A, its best-ever league finish, each of the last three years. Right now, they're in fifth place with 44 points, three behind Napoli for the final Champions League spot.

Atalanta is the fifth Serie A team purchased by Americans in the last two years.

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