Juventus Looking to Share Sale to Balance Books

Italian Serie A team Juventus has declared plans to raise Eur120 million ($166m) through a share sale as the club seeks to tackle the worst financial loss in its history.

The Turin based side revealed losses of Eur95.4 million ($132) for the financial year ending June 30, discount 2011, abortion a huge rise on the loss of Eur11 million ($15.2m) for the 2009-10 season. The share sale, which will be completed by March 31, is part of a five-year plan looking to change the fortunes of the club.

Juventus currently leads Serie A it is still suffering the effects of the 2006 match-fixing scandal, which saw it relegated from the top flight, while it has failed to qualify for the lucrative UEFA Champions League in the past two years. Juventus has also been focused on developing its new stadium, which opened this season as Italy’s first privately owned football venue. Juventus president Andrea Agnelli told the club’s shareholders on Tuesday that the huge losses for 2010-11 were caused by the “virtuous” investment into the new stadium and four years of overhauling the club’s squad, which “flooded our engine”.

The Agnelli family, whose Exor company controls Juventus, has agreed to pay down Eur72 million ($99.5m) of the club’s debt as an advance on the share sale.

Juventus chief executive Aldo Mazzia added: “The increase in capital will finance the club’s life for the next five years. The aim is to get back to being competitive in Italy and Europe and, at the same time, reach a financial balance and be self-financing by the end of the industrial plan.”