Juventus has raised further funding since paying €100M to sign Cristiano Ronaldo last year. GETTY IMAGES
Juventus tapped int'l bond markets "for the first time," with the Italian football club raising further funding after paying €100M ($113M) to sign Cristiano Ronaldo last year, according to Robert Smith of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The club, which is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, raised €175M ($197M) of five-year debt, at a yield of 3.5%, having earlier indicated it would raise at least €150M ($169M). The bond’s prospectus indicates that the club "can use the new funds to repay existing debt." As of June, Juventus had €310M of debt, including loans with Italian banks such as Monte dei Paschi di Siena and factoring facilities with lenders including UniCredit. The bond’s investor presentation highlights that the club’s revenues have risen 161% over the past eight years, reaching €402M in the '17-18 period. It also refers to the Agnelli family, which acquired Juventus in 1923 and is still the majority owner, as a “stable and committed” shareholder. One investor who holds Inter Milan's bond said that the yield on the new Juventus deal "was not high enough to tempt him," given that the Milanese club's bond is trading at a 4.6% yield in the secondary market. He added, "[Juventus] stock has been a nice littler earner though" (FT, 2/13).
