Stablecoin issuer Tether’s more than $1 billion bid to take over Italian professional soccer club Juventus Football Club has been dismissed by its owner, Exor.
Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli family that has owned Juventus for over 100 years, said on Saturday that its board of directors “unanimously rejected an unsolicited proposal submitted by Tether” to acquire all of the shares of the publicly traded Juventus.
“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,” it said.
On Friday, Tether said that it submitted a binding all-cash proposal to Exor for its 65.4% controlling stake in the club and would make a “public offer for the remaining shares at the same price” if it agreed.
Reuters reported that Tether offered 2.66 euros ($3.12) per share, which would value Juventus at just over 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion). Juventus’ market capitalization is 944.49 million euros ($1.1 billion) after closing trading on Friday at 2.19 euros ($2.57).
Tether did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Values are not for sale,” says Exor CEO
In a video posted on the club’s website on Saturday, Exor CEO John Elkann said Juventus “has been a part of my family for 102 years.”
“Juventus, our history and our values are not for sale,” he added.
In its statement, Exor said that the company and the Agnelli family “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.”
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Tether said in its proposal that it was prepared to invest 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to support the development of Juventus if the transaction were completed.
“For me, Juventus has always been part of my life. I grew up with this team,” said Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino. “Tether is in a position of strong financial health and intends to support Juventus with stable capital and a long horizon.”
Tether issues the stablecoin of the same name, Tether (USDT), and has started to expand its business beyond crypto, first buying a stake in Juventus in February and boosting its stake to over 10% in April.
It has boosted its influence on the club after Juventus shareholders approved Tether’s nomination of Francesco Garino to the board of directors last month. The company had also unsuccessfully put forward its deputy investment chief, Zachary Lyons.
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