Tether, the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT, has had its binding, all-cash proposal to acquire Italian football giant Juventus Football Club unanimously rejected by the club's controlling shareholder. On December 12, Tether submitted a formal offer to Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli family, to purchase its entire 65.4% stake in the storied Serie A club. The proposal, which valued Juventus at approximately €1 billion (about $1.1 billion) or €2.66 per share, was subject to regulatory approvals and Exor's acceptance.
Exor's board delivered a swift and decisive rejection on December 14. The Agnelli family, which has controlled Juventus for over a century through Exor, views the club as a core part of its identity and legacy, not merely a financial asset. Key reasons cited for the rejection include the family's long-term strategic vision for the club's sporting and financial rebuilding, as well as potential regulatory complexities from linking a major football institution to a cryptocurrency firm.
Concurrently, Bloomberg reported that Tether is seeking to raise as much as $20 billion in a stock sale that could value the privately held company at around $500 billion. This would place Tether among the world's most valuable private firms. As part of this effort, Tether has intervened to block at least one existing shareholder from selling shares at a steep discount to the targeted valuation. One unidentified shareholder had sought to sell at least $1 billion worth of shares at a valuation of about $280 billion.
Tether executives are exploring post-deal mechanisms to provide liquidity for investors, including share buybacks and tokenizing company shares on a blockchain. The company confirmed it had received assurances that unauthorized shareholder sales would not proceed, saying such actions could undermine a fundraising process led by major global investment banks. Tether is not planning to allow existing shareholders to sell as part of the main funding round.
Had the Juventus acquisition succeeded, Tether planned to invest up to €1 billion to support and develop the club and launch a public tender offer for the remaining shares, fully funded with its own capital. Tether has previously disclosed it already holds a minority stake in Juventus. The failed bid represents a landmark moment at the intersection of cryptocurrency and traditional sports, highlighting both the sector's growing confidence and capital, and the formidable barriers posed by legacy ownership and governance structures.
