Italy's Juventus shares rise after crypto firm Tether buys stake
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Quarter Final - First Leg - Juventus v Sporting CP - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - April 13, 2023 General view of the corner flag before the match REUTERS/Massimo Pinca/File Photo
MILAN :Shares in Italy's top-flight soccer club Juventus rallied on Friday, after cryptocurrency firm Tether said it had become a minority shareholder, without disclosing the size of its stake.
Turin-based Juventus is controlled by Italy's Agnelli family through their investment company Exor, which holds a 64 per cent stake in Italy's most successful club. The holding did not sell any shares to Tether, a spokesperson said.
On its website, Tether said the investment in the Milan-listed club had a "strategic" nature, as Juventus shares rose as much as 4.7 per cent on heavy volumes, before paring gains and closing up 1.57 per cent at 2.531 euros.
"Make Juventus Great Again," Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino wrote on X.
Juventus, which has been controlled by the Agnelli family for a century, had to raise around 900 million euros ($945.5 million) from its shareholders over the past six years in three separate cash call operations to beef up its balance sheet. It reported a loss of nearly 200 million euros in the financial year ending June 30.
Tether has emerged as a dominant force in the booming market for stablecoins, which are designed to maintain a constant value by being pegged to traditional currencies and offer users a way to move money between cryptocurrencies without exposure to price swings.
"Aligned with our strategic investment in Juve, Tether will be a pioneer in merging new technologies... with the well-established sports industry," Ardoino said in a company statement.
After dominating the Italian soccer landscape for nearly a decade until 2020, Juventus was hit by an accounting scandal linked to player trading and salary payments, whose consequences included a ban on European competitions last season.
The club, popularly known as the Bianconeri because of its black and white team jersey, currently ranks fifth in Italy's Serie A standings and is in a Champions League knockout phase playoff with PSV Eindhoven.
($1 = 0.9513 euro)
