Tether Eyes Majority Stake in South American Agro-Industrial Giant

Tether, the issuer of the USDt stablecoin, is exploring an expansion of its investment portfolio by seeking a majority stake in South American agro-industrial firm Adecoagro. On February 18, Adecoagro announced that it had received an "unsolicited non-binding proposal" from Tether's venture division, Tether Investments, to acquire a majority stake in the company.

Adecoagro, which operates in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, would see Tether acquire its outstanding common shares at $12.41 each. Notably, Tether is already a shareholder of Adecoagro, holding approximately 19.4% of its outstanding shares. The stablecoin issuer's board of directors met on February 16 to review the proposal's terms and conditions, and the company is consulting with legal and financial advisers to evaluate the offer's suitability for its shareholders.

If approved, Tether's potential majority stake in Adecoagro would follow its recent investment in the Italian professional football club Juventus, announced on February 14. Tether's buying spree comes after it criticized JPMorgan analysts earlier in the month for suggesting that it might sell some of its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to comply with stablecoin legislation developments in the United States.

Tether's interest in Adecoagro is not new. In September 2024, the stablecoin firm made its first investment in Adecoagro, acquiring a 9.8% stake in the company for $100 million. Since then, Adecoagro's shares have slightly declined, dropping around 13% to $9.80 on February 14, according to market data. The company's market capitalization currently stands at $1 billion.

Tether's intention to acquire the majority stake in Adecoagro comes after a record-breaking year for the stablecoin issuer. The firm's holdings in low-risk US Treasury bonds reached an all-time high of $113 billion.