Can you lend me a helping hand?
A story of Romulus, Remus, AS Roma and a US conglomerate.
Hey there👋. I’m Shounak.
And today, I’m going to ask you for a favor. But before I do, a little backstory.
I started this newsletter in July of this year with one simple goal in mind: To learn more about the football industry and use this as leverage to break into the industry.
Since then, I’ve written 12 essays, and have juggled both work and Weekend Beer. Which has not been easy. But I figured it’s better to write than to mindlessly watch Netflix. So I kept writing.
And I will. Except, I no longer have my day job. I was fired last week and frankly, I don’t mind. I was not happy, and if I’m going to be spending 1/3rd of my day at work, it better be something I enjoy and I’m good at. Ikigai and all that jazz - you know?
Which brings me to my favor.
It would mean a lot to me if you could help me land a job within the football industry. Maybe you work at a football organization or some broadcasting house, or maybe you’re just studying. Maybe you don’t even work at any football-related company, but you have friends who do. Please help me connect with them.
You can email me at shounak594@gmail.com. You can even DM me on Twitter. Whatever works for you, basically.
It would really mean a lot if you help me out.
Plus, I’ll owe you a Weekend Beer myself ;)
Now, on to today’s issue…
Friends,
In 1969, Thomas Hoyt Friedkin, signed a franchise deal with Toyota to distribute their automobile vehicles and parts in the Houston area of Texas. The company was called the Gulf States Toyota Distributors.
Three years later, in 1972, the company employed 35 associates and had sold over 5000 Toyota cars and trucks through 14 dealerships. Since then, it has accounted for over 13% of all Toyota sales in the United States across the five states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The Gulf States Toyota Distributors is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Friedkin Group, which is now led by Thomas Friedkin’s son, Daniel. The Friedkin Group now encompasses a consortium of companies across many industries - automotive, hospitality, entertainment, and sports.
On 17th August 2020, Italian football club AS Roma announced that it had been acquired in a €591million deal with the Friedkin Group. This takeover brought an end to the 8-year reign of the former Boston-based club owner James Pallotta, who took over the club in August of 2012.
The investment was made via a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) - Romulus and Remus Investments LLC - a company incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware in the United States.
This takeover meant that the Friedkin Group now owned 86.6% of the club owning a total of 544,468,535 at the price of €0.1165 per share. The remaining 13.4% of the club’s share capital is publicly owned, with the Friedkin Group initiating a mandatory tender offer upon these publicly-owned shares.
Stumbling Blocks
In the semi-annual Financial Report released by AS Roma for the 2019-20 financial year, the Giallorossi earned €94.641 million as its income. This is approximately €40 million less than this time last year.
As for the total costs incurred by the club during this time, there was a slight decrease from last year dropping from €136 million to €123 million.
Part of the reason for this loss in revenue was the dissolution of the agreement AS Roma had with their training kit sponsor Betway. In July 2018, the Italian government had passed the “Dignity Decree” - a legislation that prohibits the advertising of gambling logos, forcing the club to terminate their relationship with the betting company.
In the first 9 months of the 2019/20 financial season, the Giallorossi sustained losses totaling €126 million, with the total debt at €280 million.
This is not a one-off situation either. Roma has been struggling financially for quite some time now. For instance, revenue dropped down €17m to €236m, mainly due to less progress in the Champions League. Television revenue also went down 13% to €145m. So did matchday revenue, which dropped 14% to €34m.
The good news is that commercial revenue was up €10m to €55m, and revenues from player sales went up 19% from €320m to €380m.
The Road Ahead
The revenue highlights show that it’s important for the Giallorossi to qualify for the Champions League and go a step ahead. The 2018/19 revenue of €236m was greatly influenced by revenues directly received from the Champions League, earning the club almost €66m. This was not as much as last year’s revenue though, with Roma earning €98m from the Champions League.
This is part of the reason that the Friedkin Group took over the capital-based club. The new Board of Directors includes a mix of astute businessmen and financial lawyers who bring the necessary expertise to run the club.
For instance, besides the Chairman Dan Freidkin, the BOD includes people like Marc Watts, who is President of The Friedkin Group. Partner at taxation law firm Salvini and Partners, Ines Gandini also joins the BOD bringing her years of taxation experience into the club.
In addition, Professor of legal financial regulations Mirella Pellegrini also joins the BOD, as does Eric Williamson, who is the VP of the Friedkin Business Development Group. There is also on the BOD Benedetta Navarra, who represents Unicredit - one of AS Roma’s creditors.
A new Executive committee has also been formed consisting of Dan Friedkin, Ryan Friedkin, Marc Watts, Eric Williamson with Guido Fienga as CEO.
Fienga had started working with AS Roma under the Pallotta regime as the Strategy and Media Director in 2013, before being appointed as Chief Operating Officer last year, where he handled the day-to-day operations of the club. He will now be assisted by Ryan Friedkin, son of Daniel Friedkin, who has since moved to Italy and will be running the club’s day to day operations with Fienga.
Guido Fienga
One of the criticisms leveled against Pallotta was the lack of progress in building the much-needed new stadium for the club. This is something that the new management will have to take on. In pursuing the Stadio Della Roma project, they will have to work closely with city Mayor Virginia Raggi - who is known to be on good terms with CEO Guido Fienga.
So far, the moves made by the Friedkin Group look good on paper. They will also be getting a helping hand from the Pallotta group until the end of December to sort out their financial woes. The arrival of Pedro and Jordan Veretout will add much-needed firepower to their on-field performances too.
Whether this acquisition is something the AS Roma fans will remember with fond memories, only time will tell.
For Your Eyes Only…
Diego Maradona after Argentina lost to Germany in the 1990 World Cup Final.
A young Vicente Del Bosque
The USSR lineup before their match against Poland at the Lenin Central Stadium in Moscow, 1970.
What Else Are We Reading…
- A sneak-peek into the original Bleacher Report website way back in 2006.
-  Industry campaign group Women in Football look to grow, as a new survey reveals 66% of women have faced discrimination working in football.
- Everything is trippy with Diego Maradona around.
- Bloomberg journalist David Hellier sets out how US investors are looking to build additional inroads into the European football markets. They currently own "one-fifth of top teams in the U.K., France, and Italy".
- A wonderful memoir of Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona.
Strike Of The Day…
Your Weekend Beer took us 30+ hours to brew. Phew!
I am exhausted. But not really.
It is certainly easy to write this up when you’ve been fired from your day job. Some might call even it a silver lining.
Anyways, it would mean a lot if you could help me get out of this jobless unemployment situation.
Pls help.
Thank you.
Also, keep sharing your Weekend Beers with your buddies.
Cheers.