Tether, the crypto company behind the world’s largest stablecoin, USDT aims to acquire popular Italian football club Juventus FC, increasing its minority stake to 100%.
The firm said on Friday it has submitted a binding proposal for majority shareholder Exor’s 65.4% stake in the club in a cash offer, according to a Friday blog post. If that deal goes through, Tether intends to make a public tender offer for the club’s remaining shares at the same price. Juventus FC SpA is a publicly traded company with a market capitalization of $925 million at Friday’s closing price.
Tether said it is “prepared” to invest $1 billion in the club if the transaction goes through.
“Our interest in Juventus comes from deep admiration and respect,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, a lifelong fan of the team, said in a statement. “Tether is in a position of strong financial health and intends to support Juventus with stable capital and a long horizon.”
The bid comes as Tether expands beyond its crypto roots, investing in artificial intelligence, payments, robotics and even sports. Its flagship token, the $188 billion USDT, is the dominant token in the fast-growing stablecoin sector and increasingly popular as a means of payment and savings in emerging countries. The company said its net profit exceeded $10 billion in the first nine months of the year, mainly from the return on the US Treasuries that back the USDT. The company also has 116 tonnes of gold – a haul that exceeds the holdings of some medium-sized nations.
Tether currently holds more than 10% of the shares in Juventus, but earlier this year expressed his intention to seek a more active role at the Italian club in Turin.
The fan crypto token of Juventus, dubbed JUV (JUV), surged 30% on the news.
