The long-awaited closing of the US Ancona operation took place yesterday in Rome, in the presence of the outgoing president Tony Tiong – this time he was actually there – and the new owner, the incoming Francesco Agnello. The closing was carried out by the notary Gallori, with the assistance of the Galoppi & Partners firm on the buyer side together with the advisor Marsella and on the seller side the Giangrande firm together with the Ontier Italia and Olg firms and the accountant Pierfrancesco Ripa, brother of the former CEO red and white Roberto.
The new ownership has announced that by the beginning of next week “the new corporate positions, the organizational chart and the sports project will be formalised”. As written the previous day by Mister Tiong to the FIGC, the transfer of control of Us Ancona took place through the sale, by Tiong himself, of The Dream, a single-member company that owns 95% of Us Ancona – the other 5% belongs to Mauro Canil, at least for now – and 100% to the Ancona Sport Center, the company awarded the tender with which it was supposed to acquire the land to be used as a sports centre. Tony Tiong hasn’t done it, Francesco Agnello could still decide to do it, maybe this is the business he has glimpsed in Us Ancona. Which, however, at the moment is a kind of empty box, that is, without a sporting title to be able to participate in a championship, given that it has been excluded from the C series and that the procedure allowed for requesting registration in the D is only that contemplated by paragraph 10 of the Article 52 of the Noif, organizational rules of the Football Federation, namely the one that follows the public notice of Mayor Silvetti. If Mr. Tiong’s acquisition two years ago left many questions open, especially as to why he had decided to invest in Ancona – we are talking about 8 million euros spent in just over two years -, now this closing reaffirms others: but couldn’t Tiong have sold months ago, when the company was in series C? Or after having paid the salaries and having duly registered? What’s the point of selling now, if not to spite the city and the minority shareholder? Serie A dreams? And then the questions that Francesco Agnello will have to answer in the next few days: he will purchase 5% from Canil – the rules stipulate that the company promoted by the mayor does not include directors or shareholders of companies excluded from the professional leagues in the last five years – and then he will try to pass through Mayor Silvetti’s announcement, or will he wait for it to be deserted, perhaps to then present himself as the sole interlocutor? Many doubts that he will have to clarify by July 4th, assuming that these are his intentions, with a 400 thousand euro cashier’s check ready for the FIGC.
Joseph Poli
