Stablecoin issuer Tether’s dream of fully acquiring Italian football club Juventus appears to have been dashed.
The board of directors of major shareholder Exor unanimously rejected Tether’s binding all-cash bid for the company’s 65.4% stake in Juventus, saying in a press release on Saturday that it had “no intention to sell any of its shares in Juventus to third parties, including but not limited to El Salvador-based Tether.”
Tether yesterday publicly announced its bid for Exor – a holding company controlled by Italy’s Agnelli family, whose multi-sector business dynasty includes Fiat SA – and said the company had “deep admiration and respect” for the football club and planned to invest an additional $1 billion to boost its growth if the takeover was accepted. Tether already holds a 10% stake in the club but has long been outspoken about its desire to take a more active role in the club.
A Tether spokesperson did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Juventus faces ongoing financial challenges, with regular losses and the need for multiple capital injections, totaling more than 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) over the past seven years.
Exor described the Tether acquisition as “unsolicited” in a press release and reiterated the Agnelli family’s continued commitment to the team’s success.
“Juventus is a legendary and successful club of which the Axl and Agnelli families have been stable and proud shareholders for more than a century, and they remain fully committed to the club, supporting its new management team in executing a clear strategy to achieve strong results on and off the field,” the release said.
Neither Juventus nor Exor immediately responded to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Prices of tokens related to football clubs, Shares surged more than 32% in the past 24 hours after the stablecoin giant revealed it was preparing to acquire the club. As of this writing, it does not appear to have reacted to Exor’s announcement.
The stablecoin issuer is currently Juventus’ second-largest shareholder, holding 11.53% of the club’s shares, behind Exor. Juventus shares fell 0.9% to 2.194 euros ($2.58) during Friday’s trading session. The club’s total market value hovers around $988 million.
