Stablecoin issuer Tether will reportedly pitch its own list of board candidates and “governance changes” for Juventus, a football club based in Italy in which the company has a 10.7% stake.
According to a Monday Reuters report, Tether’s suggestions for the football club’s board will come ahead of a Nov. 7 shareholder meeting, and it will also contribute about $129 million as part of a capital increase in Juventus. The stablecoin issuer initially invested in Juventus in February, increasing its stake to more than 10% in April as part of a “commitment to innovation and long-term collaboration,” according to CEO Paolo Ardoino.
The football club’s board has been no stranger to controversy in past years. Every member resigned in November 2022 amid allegations of financial fraud involving players’ salaries. Former Juventus board Chair Andrea Agnelli and two other Juventus executives accepted plea deals with Italian authorities in September to serve suspended sentences.
The reported board candidates from Tether came on the 11th anniversary of the launch of the company’s stablecoin, USDt (USDT). Tether remains the largest stablecoin by market capitalization at more than $177 billion, but a ruble-backed stablecoin, A7A5, recently became the largest non-US dollar-pegged coin with a $500-million market cap.
Related: Tether invests in Juventus football club
Cointelegraph reached out to Tether for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Stablecoin issuer partnering with a variety of non-crypto ventures
In addition to its Juventus investment, Tether acquired a 30% stake in the Italian media company Be Water in May. Ardoino said that, at the time, the move was part of recognizing the “importance of independent media in shaping informed societies.”
The CEO has seemingly been developing closer ties to the White House under US President Donald Trump, weighing on the GENIUS stablecoin bill signed into law in a July ceremony, which Ardoino attended.
Tether also announced a $775 million investment in the video-sharing platform Rumble last December. In August, the two companies proposed jointly acquiring all shares of Northern Data’s AI and high-performance computing, worth more than $1 billion.
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