Lille owner seeks to win control of Serie A's Sampdoria, sources say

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MILAN :Luxembourg-based investment firm Merlyn Partners is seeking to secure control of Sampdoria in what would be the latest takeover of an Italian soccer club by a private equity investor, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Currently second-bottom in Serie A, Sampdoria enjoyed their heyday in the early 1990s when the Genoa-based club secured their sole national title with a team led by outstanding strike partnership Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini.

Hard-hit by the pandemic, loss-making Sampdoria have been for sale since the start of the year as part of a process aimed at repaying creditors of the club's former chairman and owner, who has been involved in a case of alleged bankruptcy.

A trustee has been looking after the sale process of the club for a year, with investment bank Lazard acting as advisor but no deal has been struck so far.

Merlyn Partners, which bought French top flight club Lille two years ago, submitted a binding proposal for Sampdoria on Saturday ahead of a shareholder meeting to vote on a capital hike to shore up the club's ailing finances, the people said.

The fund, founded by former JP Morgan banker Alessandro Barnaba, is offering to fully subscribe the 30 million-euro cash call and to inject an additional 20 million euros ($21 million)into the club.

The sources said Merlyn Partners offer is set to expire on Wednesday, when a shareholder meeting to vote on the capital hike was initially scheduled, before the club announced a postponement of the meeting to Dec.19.

Sampdoria had no comment.

Cash-strapped Sampdoria reported a full-year loss of 24 million euros last year, while net financial debt stood at 90.4 million euros as of Dec 31, 2021.

In 2021, Sampdoria city rivals