Stablecoin Giant Tether Makes Bid To Buy Popular Italian Soccer Powerhouse Juventus ⋆ ZyCrypto

Tether, the crypto company behind the world’s largest stablecoin, said it wants to buy the famous Italian football club Juventus FC, after previously taking a minority share in the team.

Tether Makes Push To Become The Owner Of Juventus

According to the Friday blog post, Tether submitted a binding all-cash proposal to Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli family, for its majority 65.4% stake in Juventus that it has held for more than 100 years.

If that deal goes through, Tether aims to make a public tender offer for the club’s remaining shares at the same price. Juventus FC is a publicly-traded company, with a market capitalization of $924 million as of Friday’s closing price. 

“For me, Juventus has always been part of my life,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino opined in a statement. “I grew up with this team. As a boy, I learned what commitment, resilience, and responsibility meant by watching Juventus face success and adversity with dignity. Those lessons stayed with me long after the final whistle.”

Nevertheless, majority shareholder Exor’s board of directors has unanimously rejected Tether’s bid, stating in a Saturday announcement that it has “no intention of selling any of its shares in Juventus to a third party, including but not restricted to El Salvador-based Tether.”

Tether “Prepared” To Invest $1 Billion In Juventus

Tether already owns an 11.53% of Juventus. The crypto firm indicated that it is “prepared” to invest $1 billion in support of the development of the Torino, Italy-based club if the transaction is completed.

“Tether is in a position of strong financial health and intends to support Juventus with stable capital and a long horizon,” Ardoino postulated. “Our goal is to contribute positively to the club’s future, to support sporting performance at the highest level, and to help Juventus continue to grow sustainably in a rapidly evolving global sports and media landscape.” 

Tether’s flagship token, the $186 billion USDT, is the dominant token in the ever-growing stablecoin industry. The bid comes as Tether is looking to expand its business beyond USDT, investing in artificial intelligence, robotics, and even a health platform.