Juventus’ fan token (JUV) dropped over 13% from its intraday high after Tether’s 1.1 billion euro ($1.3 billion) takeover offer was declined.
JUV rose to more than $0.85, its peak since early November, around 21:00 UTC on Sunday, but later fell to below $0.74 as of early Monday morning in Europe, based on CoinGecko data.
This decline in the token contrasts sharply with a significant increase in the publicly traded shares of Juventus Football Club, which surged over 14% on Monday to 2.50 euros, following the announcement of Tether’s cash proposal and its rejection by Exor, the controlling shareholder.
Tether’s offer, which was submitted on Friday at a 21% premium, valuing Juventus at 1.1 billion euros, stands as one of the most notable crypto-backed initiatives in professional sports to date. Tether is the entity behind USDT, the largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization.
For the 2024-2025 season, crypto exchanges invested $568 million in sports sponsorships, marking a 20% increase from the previous year, according to SportQuake. Soccer remains the dominant sport, accounting for nearly 60% of new sponsorships.
On Friday, Tether, which already holds an 11.53% stake in Juventus, made an all-cash proposal to acquire Exor’s 65.4% shareholding for 2.66 euros per share, as outlined in a letter to Exor that was reviewed by Bloomberg.
Exor, the holding company controlled by the Agnelli family, which also has interests in automaker Stellantis (Fiat), stated on Saturday that it has “no intention of selling any of its shares in Juventus to a third party, including but not limited to Tether based in El Salvador.”
