Milan, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The Agnelli family has no intention of selling Juventus to crypto group Tether or anyone else, sources close to the family’s holding company Exor said, after Tether bid for Italy’s most historically successful soccer club.
Tether said on Friday it had submitted an all-cash proposal to Exor to buy its entire stake in the Turin-based Serie A club.
Tether, the issuer of a U.S. dollar-referenced stablecoin dubbed USDT, has already built a stake of more than 10% in Juventus this year, becoming its second-largest shareholder after Exor.
Its proposal contemplates the acquisition of Exor’s entire shareholding in the club, representing 65.4% of the total share capital, Tether said in a press release without disclosing the price at which it would buy the shares.
It added that it would make a public tender offer for the remaining Juventus shares at the same price offered to Exor.
The crypto group intends to invest 1 billion euros to support the club if the acquisition is completed, it said.
Juventus declined to comment on the offer. Exor was not immediately available to comment.
Exor CEO John Elkann said in November that the Agnelli family had no intention of selling shares in Juventus. The family’s ties with the Turin-based club date back to 1923 when Edoardo Agnelli became chair.
Tether’s USDT accounts for more than half the market of stablecoins pegged to the US dollar, according to the Bank of Italy.
The group’s CEO Paolo Ardoino is an Italian national and Juventus supporter.
The USDT had a market capitalization of around $186 billion as of Friday. The company’s token is backed by U.S. dollars and U.S. Treasuries, and is one of the 20 largest holders of U.S. government debt.
Stablecoins are digital tokens that aim to maintain a stable value through a one-to-one peg to a traditional currency and are back by reserves, mostly in the form of government bonds or deposits.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Devika Nair; editing by Gavin Jones)
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