


Pitch Imperfect: The Juventus brain trust—including executive chairman Andrea Agnelli (second from left)—is looking to raise more capital for the Italian soccer team.
(Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)Shares of Juventus got pounded Monday after the Italian soccer team announced in draft financial statements on October 6 that it was going to raise $210 million by issuing more shares. The stock fell 16% on Monday before rebounding to 27 cents, down 6%. The shares, which trade on the Milan stock exchange, are down 29% year to date. The new capital raise is needed offset the huge financial losses and dissipating equity the team has suffered while its net debt has increased.
Less equity, more debt.
ForbesThe report issued last week by Juventus—the 11th most valuable soccer team in the world—also said the need for the capital was partly influenced by the negative effects on revenues and costs related to the outcomes of Italian and international sports proceedings. In July, Juventus was banned from European competition for a season by UEFA after breaking financial fair play regulations. It has also been investigated for financial irregularities related to capital gains and penalized for false accounting, with its entire board resigning last November. (And the team faces challenges on the field as well with star midfielder Paul Pogba testing positive again for testosterone. Pending an expected appeal, the 30-year-old Pogba faces a four-year ban.)
The current financial debacle is nothing new for Juventus, which is 63.8% by owned by the Agnelli family via Exor NV, the Dutch holding company that owns and manufactures Ferrari and Stellantis automobiles. As I wrote a year ago, Juventus has been a great ride for bankers but a lousy bet for investors. The bankers involved over the years in selling those shares—a list that includes Banca IMI, Merrill Lynch (Bank of America
As predicted, the bankers are back as the Agnelli family now wants investors to finance their expensive toy. But before you buy think about this: Investors who bought the Juventus IPO would have seen the 1.17 euro price per share plummet more than 75%.
The only way you can make money on this stock is if the Agnelli family sells. But that’s probably a sucker bet.