The parable of the former Aim unicorn sets in the worst possible way. After the financial and stock market storm that hit Bio-On in recent months, the judicial tsunami has also begun.
As part of the "Plastic Bubbles" operation carried out by the Guardia di Finanza and the Prosecutor of Bologna, three top figures of the company ended up in the crosshairs of justice. Marco Astorri, president and founder of the group that produces innovative bioplastics, has been under house arrest since 23 October, while Guy Cicognani, partner and vice president of the board, and Gianfranco Capodaglio, have received interdictory measures and a ban on exercising management roles as a legal entity. In total there are nine suspects.
Dozens of searches were carried out in Emilia Romagna, Lazio and Lombardy e 150 million euros of assets under seizure. The figure corresponds to the value of the profit from the crimes committed, the Fiamme Gialle said. The accusations are very serious: false corporate communications by a listed company and market manipulation.
The news had immediate repercussions in Piazza Affari. In pre-opening Wednesday, Bio-on stock failed to gain price, marking a theoretical fall of 50%. Shortly after she arrived Borsa Italiana communication: shares suspended from trading indefinitely.
Something unthinkable until a few months ago, when the company led by Marco Astorri and Guido Cicognani was considered the flagship of Aim, the list of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2018 Bio-On had become a unicorn, a term used to define companies worth over 1 billion euros. On 23 July 2019, the Bio-On share was sailing at 55,3 euros per share, a far cry from the listing price set in 2014 at 5 euros. The next day, the American hedge fund Quintessential would have published a report with the example title: "'Bio-On spa: a Parmalat in Bologna?". The fund led by Gabriele Grego has accused the company of financial offenses and conflicts of interest, calling it a company that is based "on a house of cards", with a "precarious financial situation" and an accounting that reveals "serious irregularities ”. Indeed, according to Quintessential, most of the revenues declared by the company derive from cross-operations with companies in which Bio-On itself is a shareholder and to which it sells technology in exchange for money that is not even paid.
Bio-On immediately reacted to the allegations, denying them across the board and also filing a complaint with the carabinieri, but the stock market storm was impossible to stop: in the last six months the stock has lost over 80% of its value and on 23 October, before the suspension, it was worth 5,2 euros per share.
The half-yearly published in October also contributed to the stock market vicissitudes (on which also Consob has turned on a beacon) and closed with a loss of over 10 million, revenues plummeting to 917 thousand euros (they were 6,12 million). “The results did not surprise us and confirm the correctness of our analysis,” explained Quintessential.
