Juventus controlling shareholder Exor rejects Tether’s takeover approach

Shares in Italian football clubJuventus were rising strongly on Monday after majority shareholder Exor rebuffed an offer from minority shareholder Tether Investments for its stake.

Exor, which is controlled by Italy’s Agnelli family, said that its board had “unanimously rejected” the unsolicited proposal from the investment arm of crypto firm Tether for its 65.4% stake in the club. It has controlled Juventus since 1923.

Tether, which already has a 11.5% holding, announced last week that it wanted to take over the club by purchasing Exor’s stake for €2.66 a share before snapping up the remaining shares, valuing the company at €1.1bn.

“Exor reaffirms its previous, consistent statements 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,” Exor said in a statement on Saturday.

“Juventus is a storied and successful club, of which Exor and the Agnelli family are the stable and proud shareholders for over a century, and they remain fully committed to the Club, supporting its new management team in the execution of a clear strategy to deliver strong results both on and off the field.”

Juventus’s stock was up 12.2% at €2.46 by 1103 GMT.