The Florida-based company has now acquired a majority share in Genoa after completing a $170 million-plus purchase of the club.

Serie A has garnered the attention of American and Canadian investors over the past decade or so, with clubs like Roma, AC Milan, Bologna, Spezia, Fiorentina, and Venezia now being under the ownership of North Americans.

And now, Genoa has joined their ranks. Genoa, which was founded in September 1893, are not only Italy's oldest club but also are the oldest still active team in Italian football. Although their last Serie A title was nearly a century ago (in 1924), their nine titles makes the Grifone the fourth-most successful club in Italian football's top flight.

However, things haven't gone well for the Grifone in recent times. In 2003, businessman Enrico Preziosi acquired the struggling club, which saved it from going utterly bankrupt. At that time, Genoa were facing a demotion to Serie C, but managed to stay in Serie B after the league's organizers decided to expand it to 24 teams. A year later, the Grifone won Serie B and thus were on the cusp of securing promotion to the top flight, only to be charged with match fixing and thus sent back down to Serie C.

But a few years later, Genoa were finally back in the top flight, and have remained there since 2007. 

Things have been quite bumpy for the club over the past decade, and financial woes cropped up once again along the way. The team also have struggled to stay afloat, finishing near bottom of the table on several occasions, but now things may be picking up once again.

A Florida-based investment firm, 777 Partners, has now acquired a majority share in the club in what looks set to also provide a huge cash boost for the struggling team. According to some reports, the company paid about $176 million (€155 million) to acquire 99.9 per cent of Genoa's share capital. Preziosi will remain on the board of directors, but will be replaced as president by Alberto Zangrillo.