The parent company of Juventus and controlled by the Agnelli family, Exor, firmly refuted reports in Il Giornale that it had intentions to put the Serie A club up for sale.
Following this statement, Juventus shares experienced an initial surge of up to 4.8% at the market opening, but this gain quickly moderated to just a 0.3% increase by 09:00 GMT, aligning with the broader performance of the Milan stock exchange.
A spokesperson for Exor dismissed Il Giornale’s report, labelling it “baseless.”
The newspaper had suggested that Exor found Juventus’s recent financial results unsustainable and was disconcerted by the club’s ongoing legal troubles.
Juventus, along with its former Chairman Andrea Agnelli and 11 others, potentially faces a trial after Italian judges initiated a criminal case last year, alleging false accounting.
The club maintains that its accounting procedures comply with industry standards and has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
As reported by Reuters in May, representatives of the Agnelli family appeared to be more receptive to discussing the club’s financial future, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
However, Exor reiterated its unwavering commitment to Juventus at that time, dismissing any suggestions to the contrary as unfounded and aimed at creating uncertainty.
Sources informed Reuters that no imminent changes were expected, and any potential decisions would only be made once there is clarity regarding the accounting and legal issues looming over the club.
Exor owns around 64% of the shares and 78% of the voting rights in Juventus, which has a market value of around 800 million euros, according to Refinitiv data.
According to Il Giornale, Exor believes it could put Juventus up for sale for at least 1.5 billion euros after taking measures to resolve its accounting issues.
The investigation into Juventus’s accounts also triggered separate inquiries by Italy’s soccer authorities, which eventually cost Juventus a 10-point deduction in the past Serie A season, a 718,000 euro fine and a ban, decided by UEFA, from this season’s European competitions.
Juventus has absorbed some 700 million euros in cash from shareholders over the past four years, roughly two-thirds of which has come from Exor, in whose portfolio the club is the only major business not currently making money.