Italy: Agnelli family gives full backstop to Juventus cash call

Milan: Italy’s Agnelli family has committed to back Juventus’s €200 million (US$221 million) equity fundraising in full via the family’s holding company Exor, the cash-strapped Serie A football club said.

Netherlands-based Exor controls Juventus with a stake of around 64 per cent. The holding company had committed to cover a proportion of the cash call matching that stake, worth up to €128 million, and has already almost entirely paid that sum.

As talks with banks over guaranteeing the remaining part of the deal reflected “difficult market conditions”, Juventus said it had turned to Exor, which committed to buy potentially unsold new shares for a maximum amount of €72 million.

Exor will get a €1.8 million fee for its role guaranteeing the deal, Juventus said. The club expects to complete the share sale by the end of April.

Exor’s stake in the club might rise as a consequence of the fundraising, if others investors do not join in. Juventus did not specify what Exor might do with the potential extra shares it might acquire.

Exor is the single largest investor in automaker Stellantis and Dutch group Philips and the controlling shareholder in companies including luxury sports car maker Ferrari, truck maker Iveco and farm and construction equipment maker CNH Industrial.

Milan-listed Juventus is embroiled in a false accounting probe linked to player trading. The club has denied wrongdoing and says its accounting is in line with industry standards.