Latest news with #Pozzo
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Udinese on verge of takeover by American firm Guggenheim Partners
A sale of Serie A club Udinese to a US-based investment firm is on the verge of being completed, and could go through by the end of the week according to reports from various outlets in Italy. According to the likes of ANSA and Sky Sport Italia, Udinese are close to being sold to the US-based investment firm Guggenheim Partners. The sale is expected to be closed in Luxembourg on Friday. Advertisement If completed, the sale will bring an end to the Pozzo family's time in charge of the club, which has lasted for 39 years. Udinese sale to Guggenheim Partners expected by Friday UDINE, ITALY – FEBRUARY 26: A corner flag prior to the start of the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and Spezia Calcio at the Dacia Arena on February 26, 2023 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by) According to updates from Sky Sport Italia, Guggenheim Partners could formally complete their takeover of Udinese by Friday. A preliminary agreement was reportedly signed in April for a rumoured figure of €180m. Sky adds that there is still a possibility that the Pozzo family remain involved with a minority stake in the club moving forwards. Their involvement, or possible departure from the club is expected to be confirmed once the takeover goes through. Advertisement Guggenheim Partners was founded in 1999 in partnership with the Guggenheim family, and has been run by CEO Mark Walter since the year 2000. It is estimated that the firm manages over €349 billion in assets. WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 07: Los Angeles Dodgers Owner and Chairman Mark Walter (C), accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump (R), speaks as Trump hosts the 2024 World Series champions in the East Room of the White House on April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees with a 7-6 victory in Game 5. (Photo by) Walter and Guggenheim Partners are the sole owners of MLB team the Los Angeles Dodgers, and also own stakes in NBA outfit the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. Walter and Guggenheim Partners also own just over 12% of BlueCo, the holding company which owns Premier League side Chelsea and Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg. Walter is listed as a Chelsea director, but is not involved in the day-to-day running of the club.
Winnipeg Free Press
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Wait no more
On a sweltering May afternoon, with an apocalyptic smokescreen descending upon the ruins of a burned-down monastery in St. Norbert, director Rodrigo Beilfuss leads rehearsals for a play that's frustrated him every day since preparation began in April. 'It's killing me in a beautiful way,' the artistic director of Shakespeare in the Ruins says with a smile. The work he's discussing is Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, a play that since its première has confounded, confused, delighted and enlightened audiences the world over. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Macbeth (Darren Martens, left) and Lady Macbeth (Lindsay Nance) are the sensual heart of Shakespeare's classic murder mystery. Called an 'acrid cartoon of the story of mankind' in 1956 by New York Times reviewer Brooks Atkinson, Godot opens on June 13 in St. Norbert, with an estimable cast led by Arne MacPherson's Vladimir, Cory Wojcik's Estragon and Tom Keenan's Pozzo. This season at the Ruins, the company is producing Godot in repertory with Macbeth, which opens tonight, directed by Emma Welham. Last produced by SiR as an award-winning feature film in 2020 as a pandemic pivot project, the Scottish-based play features Darren Martens in the titular role, alongside Lindsay Nance (Lady Macbeth), Tracy Penner (Banquo), Ray Strachan (Macduff) and three actors — Keenan, Liam Dutiaume and Mackenzie Wojcik (Cory Wojcik's son) — who will straddle the worlds of Beckett and Shakespeare by appearing in both productions. Welham, making her professional directing debut, says that like Godot, Macbeth is a challenging, layered piece of theatre that demands consideration of tragic structure, the presence of the supernatural and the masks its characters wear to cover their private selves. In complementary ways, both directors agree, the works wrestle with human nature, trust and the fallibility of the universe. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Emma Welham takes on the challenge of directing Macbeth. 'Throughout the course of the play — spoiler alert — Macbeth becomes a tyrannical ruler, and this show really asks the question of how we're willing to stand up to it. What are we willing to do to stand up against injustice? It asks the question of who we put our trust in and why,' says Welham, who just finished her first year at the National Theatre School's directing program in Montreal. 'The central image of the show I return to is when Lady Macbeth says, 'Look like the innocent flower / but be the serpent under't.'' Nothing is exactly as it seems, and as in Godot, the work calls into question what is ever knowable about the characters we watch onstage or meet in day-to-day life. At the rehearsal for Godot, the cast and crew are working their way through the particularities of the movement and dialogue in Beckett's two-act tragicomedy, so clearly described in the script that each time the slavish Lucky (Dutiaume) moves a muscle, it must perfectly follow — or blatantly ignore — the orders of Keenan's prim Pozzo. 'It's relentlessly specific,' Beilfuss says, again smiling. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Director Emma Welham (right) works with Darren Martens and Lindsay Nance prior to the opening of Macbeth. 'Can you propose a rhythm for us?' MacPherson asks the director after his Vladimir and Wojcik's Estragon ran through a playful tête à tête. Moments later, Keenan tests his character's coachmen's whip, and soon, Pozzo is smoking a pipe and discarding the bones from a bucket of freshly consumed St. Norbert fried chicken. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. Nearby, Mackenzie Wojcik, his father and Dutiaume kick around a hacky sack in the shade of a monastery wall. After about an hour, stage managers decide it's time for a break, suggesting the cast drink water and take respite from the sun. 'I don't know where a logical place to break is,' Keenan says. JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Darren Martens and Lindsay Nance get up to a bit of mayhem and murder in Macbeth. 'That's the problem with this play,' says Beilfuss, laughing. Ben WaldmanReporter Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University's (now Toronto Metropolitan University's) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben. Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Udinese on verge of takeover by American firm Guggenheim Partners
A sale of Serie A club Udinese to a US-based investment firm is on the verge of being completed, and could go through by the end of the week according to reports from various outlets in Italy. According to the likes of ANSA and Sky Sport Italia, Udinese are close to being sold to the US-based investment firm Guggenheim Partners. The sale is expected to be closed in Luxembourg on Friday. Advertisement If completed, the sale will bring an end to the Pozzo family's time in charge of the club, which has lasted for 39 years. Udinese sale to Guggenheim Partners expected by Friday UDINE, ITALY – FEBRUARY 26: A corner flag prior to the start of the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and Spezia Calcio at the Dacia Arena on February 26, 2023 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by) According to updates from Sky Sport Italia, Guggenheim Partners could formally complete their takeover of Udinese by Friday. A preliminary agreement was reportedly signed in April for a rumoured figure of €180m. Sky adds that there is still a possibility that the Pozzo family remain involved with a minority stake in the club moving forwards. Their involvement, or possible departure from the club is expected to be confirmed once the takeover goes through. Advertisement Guggenheim Partners was founded in 1999 in partnership with the Guggenheim family, and has been run by CEO Mark Walter since the year 2000. It is estimated that the firm manages over €349 billion in assets. WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 07: Los Angeles Dodgers Owner and Chairman Mark Walter (C), accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump (R), speaks as Trump hosts the 2024 World Series champions in the East Room of the White House on April 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees with a 7-6 victory in Game 5. (Photo by) Walter and Guggenheim Partners are the sole owners of MLB team the Los Angeles Dodgers, and also own stakes in NBA outfit the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. Walter and Guggenheim Partners also own just over 12% of BlueCo, the holding company which owns Premier League side Chelsea and Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg. Walter is listed as a Chelsea director, but is not involved in the day-to-day running of the club.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Udinese sale progressing as Pozzo decides to focus on Watford
The reported sale of Udinese is progressing, with Gino Pozzo deciding to end his family's 39-year association with the Italian club in order to focus more closely on Watford. Stories broke over the weekend that the Serie A side were about to be taken over by a group of American entrepreneurs. Although the exact price involved – quoted at between £150m and £180m – is unclear, the sale is going ahead. However, contrary to some reports, the Watford Observer understands from trusted contacts in Europe that the Pozzo family will not retain any part of Italian club. It has been suggested they will hold onto 20% for the next three years and, during that time, continue to have input into Udinese's transfer business. That, though, is not the case: indeed, Pozzo has decided to sell now to further confirm his focus is purely on Watford. . It is understood he sees considerably greater potential for growth and success at Watford, and taking them back to the Premier League would be far more lucrative than trying to steer Udinese back into the top half of Serie A. However, before Hornets fans see the sale of Udinese, a nine-figure sum and hear the ker-ching of a cash register, it's worth bearing in mind that money is highly unlikely to be ploughed – in large chunks at least – into the transfer market. The understanding is that Pozzo's chief commitment to the club in terms of playing staff is to financially support retaining what Watford already have. It was something he stressed in his statement, and so the budget for next season is far less likely to require income from player sales to balance things up. The owner wants to keep the likes of Imran Louza, Giorgi Chakvetadze and Kwadwo Baah, and so whereas previous budgets may have needed allowance for income from the sale of one or more of the 'crown jewels', that is now far less of a requirement. Of course, if a club comes in with an offer for any player so high the club perceive it to be good business then they will consider it. But the proceeds from the sale of Udinese and the focus on Watford means the Hornets can now sell out of choice, rather than out of necessity. Former midfielder close to a return Assist for young forward on England debut The sale of Udinese is also understood to be a piece of standalone business, and not part of a wider exit strategy where the Pozzos would be looking to sell Watford as well. The owner is, it seems, fully committed to the Hornets – and at a granular level that means he will not need to spend time flying back and forth between Italy and England. Having appointed a new head coach in the shape of Paulo Pezzolano and spoken of the play-offs and promotion, the owner is now close to taking the next step in focussing purely on Watford – selling the club that his family have owned since 1986. Should he help steer the Hornets to the Premier League for a third time since 2012, then its value may rise to a point where he decides selling that is also attractive. For now, however, he is backing up his words with actions – and as one Italian journalist said: 'Over here, there is great shock.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Patchy CV and no Championship experience'
Earlier we asked for your views on the appointment of Uruguayan Paulo Pezzolano as the new Watford boss. Here's a selection of typical responses from Hornets fans. Stewart: A typical Pozzo appointment - a foreign coach with zero experience in the Championship. Squad has some promising youngsters but needs a hefty investment in some fresh blood and letting go some of the older dead wood. Sadly this ownership's approach is testing the loyalty of some of its most ardent supporters. Good luck to him but my expectations are low this season sadly. He won't get the investment he needs to make a success of this team John: The owners have no track record in recent years of appointing successful managers but I guess the more you change them then statistically one could be successful. My concern would be his lack of experience in this country or the Championship with its relentless nature. Gerry: We needed an experienced coach who can work with a young squad. I wish him very well. Robbie: Who? It doesn't really matter how happy we are with them because if the owners are serious about wanting to challenge for promotion when we seemingly don't have the finances to make the necessary additions to the squad to enable this, then they'll be on their way when we are (hopefully) mid-table or worse, halfway through next season. Dave: Lots of fans saying 'don't care, don't want him'. How about give him a chance and when it does or doesn't work have your say then? Yes I agree sacking Clevs was dumb and a stupid move. But it's done now. Move on and get behind the team and let's see what happens. Graham: A patchy CV at best, most recently ending in failure and no EFL experience vs Tom Cleverley, eight years with WFC as player, captain, coach and manager. Enough said. After 50-plus years as a supporter, I'm done with the club until Pozzo leaves. Paul: I'll give him a chance. It seems as though the board has built him up as more than he may be. All the candidates seem to have lost their jobs after very few games. Not promising. We will wait and see for the next manager to arrive. Stephen A: It doesn't matter who the manager is if Pozzo doesn't back him and strengthen the squad. And, assuming he isn't backed, he will be sacked long before the season ends and we will be in severe danger of swapping places with Luton at the end of the season. Beth: It's clear the aim is promotion with this new appointment. But instant results have been the thorn in our side for a long time. I'm not pleased at all with Cleverley's dismissal and although he wasn't replaced the same day as has happened in the past, I'm not ready to accept a new coach yet. But if we bring in decent players this summer then I can be open to seeing how this new coach gets on. Stephen: I am unsure if he has the credentials to succeed in the Championship. The current squad is short of the required elements of a good Championship side as well. He will need a lot of help and some good additions if Pozzo really wants Premier League football back at the Vic. Steve: Never heard of him! Time will tell, I'm not holding my breath any more. Supported this club for 60 years and have never felt so unconnected with it.
