Juventus raises nearly 98 million euros through capital hike

(Reuters) -Juventus said on Friday it had raised 97.8 million euros ($112.9 million) through a share placement to institutional investors, a move aimed at funding its multi-year strategic plan.

The Turin-based soccer club completed the capital hike by placing 37.9 million new ordinary shares, equal to 9.1% of its capital following the placement, at a price of 2.58 euros per share, it said in a statement.

Shares of the club fell 5.7% to 2.55 euros per share in early trading, reflecting the transaction price.

The Serie A club said on Thursday its controlling shareholder Exor, which owns around 65.4% of the club's shares, had pledged to fully subscribe to the capital increase.

Cryptocurrency group Tether Investments, which holds around 11.5%, said it would also participate for an amount equal to its stake.

The move, fully subscribed and backed by its main shareholders, provides fresh capital to execute Juventus' strategy until 2027, it said.

Alongside the financial goals, Juventus said the capital was intended to help the club maintain "maximum sporting competitiveness at Italian and international level".

The capital increase was carried out through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure that was announced on Thursday and managed by UniCredit as the sole bookrunner.

($1 = 0.8672 euros)

(Reporting by Laura Contemori, Romolo Tosiani in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Milla Nissi-Prussak)