Juve board approves 400 million euro capital increase as Covid hits club finances

MILAN: Juventus announced on Wednesday that its board of directors had improved a capital increase of 400 million euros ($469 million) to steady the club's finances against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, Juve said that the increase is expected to be completed "by the end of 2021".

"The capital increase is part of the measures to address the significant economic and financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and will enable us to strengthen the company's equity and to balance our funding resources," Juve said.

The pandemic has hit club finances all over Europe, but according to finance company Deloitte revenues in Serie A for the 2019/20 season were down 18 percent, the biggest drop of the continent's top five leagues -- England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

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In February Juventus, who are owned by the powerful Agnelli family, said they had made losses of 113 million euros in the second half of 2020, more than double the loss recorded in the same period of the previous year.

Revenues dropped by 20 percent in that period with Juve blaming the reduction on the pandemic, which has led to government restrictions which have all but wiped out match day revenues.