Italy's Juventus to ask investors for up to €250 million

MILAN, Sept 29 - Italian soccer club Juventus said on Tuesday it would ask shareholders to approve a capital increase of up to €250 million ($283 million) as it warned of another loss this fiscal year.

• Juventus will ask shareholders to authorise the board to carry out the share issue, in one or more tranches, by the end of 2026, the club said in a statement

• The move is intended to strengthen the club's equity base and sporting competitiveness, support potential upgrades to strategic real estate assets including its Turin stadium, and improve its financial sustainability, it said

• Juventus said controlling shareholder Exor, the Agnelli family's holding company, would back the capital raising and immediately inject €60 million into the Serie A club

• Exor owns around 65% of Juventus shares

• Juventus posted on Tuesday a loss of €66 million in the year ended June 30, compared with a loss of €58.1 million a year earlier

• The club forecast another loss in the current fiscal year, after failing to qualify for this season's UEFA Champions League

• It expects a "progressive improvement" over the following two years

• Investors have injected about €1 billion into Juventus over the past seven years

• Juventus last posted an annual profit in the 2016-2017 fiscal year REUTERS