AS Roma shareholder says talked with suitor

MILAN (Reuters) - AS Roma's top shareholder Italpetroli held talks with a representative of a potential investor on Thursday, but a sale of the Italian soccer club is not imminent, Italpetroli said on Friday.

The statement did not name the potential investor and said that no agreement was reached.

"No sale proceedings have begun," the statement added.

Media reports on Friday said representatives of billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros had met club officials. Hungarian-born Soros, 77, told reporters in Brussels on Thursday he had no comment on whether he was eyeing Roma.

Roma shares closed up 12.4 percent at 1.02 euros.

The club, known for their attractive style of play, are second in the Italian soccer league and four points behind leaders Inter Milan with five games remaining in the chase for the championship.

Manchester United knocked Roma out of the lucrative European Champions League this month, but Roma will almost certainly be back in the competition next season.

Several English soccer clubs have been bought by foreign investors in recent years because of the commercial strength of the English Premier League across the world.

In contrast, there has been little interest in clubs in the rest of Europe though several parties are interested in buying Roma, media reports have said.