A great Wednesday in Piazza Affari for Banco Popolare, which by mid-morning gained more than five and a half percentage points, clearly leading the rises of the Ftse Mib. The wave of purchases comes after the announcement of the restructuring operation with the incorporation of the subsidiaries Credito Bergamasco (78%) and Banca Italease (100%). Today the subsidiary Creberg earns over 14% on the Stock Exchange. Yesterday Banco Popolare's share had gained around 2%.
The exchange was set at 11,5 Banco Popolare shares for each Creberg share, with the distribution to the latter's shareholders, before the merger, of a dividend of 0,55 euro per share. The operation guarantees a premium of 11,5% on Creberg's official price on Monday, the Bank's note explained yesterday.
Equita's analysts, referring to yesterday's closing, with the exchange and coupon give Credito Bergamasco a valuation of around 15,6 euros, or a 10% premium (yesterday the shares had closed at 14,18 euros per share). Thanks to the operation, the group aims to collect another 50 basis points of Common Equity Tier 1 ratio, one of the reference requirements for Basel 3 and for the exams that will be conducted by the ECB in the coming months.
Equita explains that the transaction should be "substantially neutral" in terms of EPS (earnings per share) and the cT1 ratio B3 should rise to 8,5%, thanks to the positive impact of 50 basis points, of which 30 linked to the computability of Banco Popolare shares, 15 to tax benefits from the merger with Italease and 6 to synergies. Experts give a "very positive" opinion on the transaction, even if the market "will continue to apply a discount, given that the capital gap with the main groups remains significant (about 200 basis points Common Equity Tier 1 ratio Basel 3)" .
“The merger of Creberg – explains Equita – in our opinion also signals a confidence in the execution of future capital management actions (including the possible sale of the Non-performing loan portfolio), given that a potential store of value that could have been activate in case of capital need".
