Less than twenty years after the listing in 2002, last Friday it was definitively Astaldi's stock market adventure is over, the construction company that merged into WeBuild at the end of a complex process that lasted two years, as many as were needed for Progetto Italia to take off completely. A widely expected delisting which, at least on a statistical level, updates the chapter of the long farewell to Piazza Affari which is marking, apart from Aim, 2021 of Borsa Italiana which passed on April 29 under the banner of Euronext.
The numbers speak for themselves. From the beginning of January to today seven titles, including Astaldi, have left Piazza Affari: Ima, Massimo Zanetti, Techedge, Astim, Creval and Panaria Group. On August 6th, the patrol will be enriched with the exit from the price list of Carraro, suspended from negotiations as early as Wednesday after the success of the takeover bid promoted by Fly, the vehicle of the Carraro family evidently disappointed by the experience on the Milanese list in which it entered at the end of 1995. The list is destined to grow further in the coming months with the farewell of Cattolica, Retelit, Guala Closures, Isagro, Sicit and that of Cerved, in case it has the offer launched by the Ion fund (but opposed by the board) was successful.
These are 14 companies for a capitalization of around 13-14 billion, a considerable value. It is as if the market had "drank up" the entire capitalization of Campari (13,8 billion euros as of last Friday) one of the brightest stocks on the Milanese market. A non-random reference to the latest, for now, Aim freshman, the Caribbean Company, a small company that deals with fine liqueurs that made a sparkling debut (+25%) in the list reserved for small companies that is experiencing a phase of extraordinary turmoil, as demonstrated by the successful placement of the shares of Ulisse Biomed, a start up biotech which will debut on 6 August.
But the luck of the small cap price list, which is on its way to exceeding the 150 unit milestone, is a rather meager consolation in the face of the fall in the appeal of the Italian Stock Exchange. Still burning, after more than two years, the release of Luxottica, who emigrated to Paris on the occasion of the merger with Essilor. A disappointment that goes hand in hand with the decision of Ermenegildo Zegna, one of the brightest potential "clients" of Borsa Italiana, to choose the listing on Wall Street through a business combination with the Spac promoted by the Bonomi group (value 2,5 billion dollars) with the aim of ferrying the most promising Italian companies towards the Wall Street listing which, unlike the Milan Stock Exchange, is experiencing a state of grace, with an average of around twenty IPOs per week, the last one that of the "rebel" Robinhood that has poured the attention of millions of individual investors on the market.
Given these results, the appeal of Piazza Affari seems very small: only three freshmen or Philogen, Seco and Italian Sea Group, in all more or less one billion euros against the 6,3 of the most robust IPO of the year, that of Stevanato, the Venetian jewel world leader in packaging solutions for pharma which has finally took the via della Borsa. That of New York, however, which on 16 July welcomed the offer (6,3 billion the valuation) of the shares of the Piombino Dese company with open arms.
A summary examination from which, however, a very precise picture emerges: there are many reasons, the most varied, for emigrate from Piazza Affari. The decision may arise from the intention to head towards markets closer to customers (the choice made at the time by Prada which focused on Hong Kong) or to the large financial centers more inclined to support the reference business. The more generous evaluations of the US markets, in this context, could represent a great temptation in the future for Made in Italy brands, in search of an adequate evaluation. In short, the few big names in our country run the risk of packing their bags towards other shores better equipped to offer structures suited to the world economy.
A dangerous trend, due to at least two potential risks: the lack of supply will push the potential demand represented by the household savings that inflate current accounts. Furthermore, Italian capitalism, for its part, could lose a historic opportunity to develop an adequate capital dimension to support international competition. As Gianni Tamburi notes, “Italian companies are still reluctant to take a step towards the market because they are victims of exaggerated individualism and the wrong feeling that after the pandemic there will still be room for aid and moratoriums. Instead it is time to think about alliances. And on the Stock Exchange”.
The real danger lies not so much in running away but in no-shows.
Of course, to change course it is urgent to give a strong and concrete signal to the market.
The Poligrafica San Faustino case, which I don't even see listed in this article, would lend itself very well to the cause.
How a merger delisting with a related non-listed, empty-box SPV with negative real assets after a deserted tender offer can be afforded is a mystery.
A mystery that explains many things, including all the delistings of the period.
Why doesn't even the good press seem to care about it?
FIRSTonline has dealt several times with the many delistings that have characterized the Italian Stock Exchange in recent times but there is a speech on the subject that makes us particularly proud to have published it: it is that of the late Professor Filippo Cavazzuti who wrote on 28 January 2021 an incomparable comment entitled "Tender offer, more delisting than takeover but the defect is not in the law" which deserves to be re-read by everyone.
how they don't deal with the crap that the JOURNALIST Panerai is doing on the CIA real estate share company