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 company said Friday it had submitted a binding proposal for majority shareholder Exor’s 65.4% stake in the club in an all-cash offer, according to a blog post published Friday. If this deal goes through, Tether intends to launch a 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 as of Friday’s closing price.
Tether said it was “ready” to invest $1 billion in the club if the transaction is finalized.
“Our interest in Juventus comes from deep admiration and respect,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, a longtime fan of the team, said in a statement. “Tether is in a position of good financial health and intends to support Juventus with stable capital and a long-term horizon.”
The offering 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 rapidly growing stablecoin sector and increasingly popular as a payment and savings vehicle in emerging markets. The company said its net profits exceeded $10 billion in the first nine months of the year, driven mainly by the performance of USDT-backed U.S. Treasuries. The company also holds 116 tonnes of gold – a dragon’s hoard that exceeds the reserves of some mid-sized countries.
Tether currently holds a more than 10% stake in Juventus, but expressed its intention earlier this year to seek to take a more active role at the Turin, Italy-based club.
Juventus fans’ crypto token, dubbed JUV (JUV), jumped 30% on the news.
