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Boston Celtics owners buy 55% stake in Serie A club Atalanta

A group of investors led by the co-owner of the Boston Celtics, Steve Pagliuca, have reached an agreement to buy a 55% stake in a vehicle that controls Italian Serie A football club Atalanta.

The Percassi family own a 45% stake in La Dea -- the holding company that has about 86% of Atalanta.

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Pagliuca, who is a co-chairman of investment fund Bain Capital and co-owner of the Celtics along with Wyc Grousbeck and Boston Basketball Partners, LLC, said in a statement: "We are thrilled to partner with the Percassi family and to support the future development of the club.

"We believe that the Percassi family has built very solid foundations on which to work together to strengthen the brand globally, with the aim of encouraging further diversification and growth of revenues, allowing the club to become more and more competitive on the Italian and international scene."

The Percassi family remain the largest shareholders and governance of the club is said to be an equal partnership with Antonio and Luca Percassi retaining roles as chairman and CEO, and Pagliuca appointed co-chair. 

The partnership aims to expand brand awareness of the club outside European borders.

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.

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