The relationship between the stock exchange and companies has always been a love and hate relationship. However, in recent years, thanks to the economic and financial difficulties experienced at national and international level, quotations on the Milan Stock Exchange they have been reduced to the bone. Suffice it to say that in the three-year period 2018-2020, only nine companies made their debut on MTA and Star, while in the first half of 2021 there were a total of three new freshmen. Few, too few, for a market which, after joining the Euronext system, aspires to achieve new and important goals.
Borrowing one of the most widespread political slogans in recent years, however, we can say that "the wind is changing". There seems to be a new season on the horizon, already renamed "the season of awakening". Indeed, in recent months, Piazza Affari seems to have found a completely new appeal that has led many companies to reconsider their plans, choosing to rely on the Stock Exchange and investors to consolidate their growth. And if there are companies, like Zegna, Drs (Leonardo's subsidiary) and Ferretti, which have decided to list abroad (the first two on Wall Street, the third in Hong Kong), there are many others that are already looking for a home in Milan.
According to the calculations of Sun 24 Hours, amounts to 20 billion the value of the companies that between the end of 2021 and 2022 are ready to land in Piazza Affari. Among them are also some big names such as Sisal and Eni Retail & Rinnovabili. A very high amount, made possible not only due to the rush of global economies that are trying to put the pandemic behind them once and for all, aided by the expansive policies of governments and central banks, but also thanks to a newfound love for equities that is involving all global squares. They certify it Ey's data according to which in the first half of 2021 "1.070 IPOs were carried out with total proceeds of $222 billion". Globally, the number of deals increased 150% year-over-year, while proceeds grew 215%, hitting the highest level in 20 years.
THE LATEST NEWS: SISAL AND INTERCOS
The latest confirmation in chronological order came from Sisal. On October 13, the gaming company that manages Lotto, SuperEnalotto, scratch cards and so on presented Borsa Italiana with an application for admission to listing on the MTA market, asking Consob for the go-ahead to publish the prospectus relating to the 'hypo. The operation, explains a note, provides for the sale of shares by Schumann Investments, controlled indirectly by OVC Capital Partners, through "an offer to be made through an institutional placement". The listing will be handled by Deutsche Bank, Equita Sim, Jp Morgan and Unicredit as joint global coordinator and joint bookrunner. The Italian bank will also be a sponsor, while Lazard is the company's financial advisor. The debut of Sisal, which will be one of the heaviest in terms of capitalization among freshmen ready for listing, could arrive between the end of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. It should also be underlined that the company's IPO could be closely followed by that of the subsidiary Mooney, the payments division born from a branch of Sisal Pay.
While awaiting the launch of the gaming giant on the Stock Exchange, investors in Piazza Affari will have something to console themselves with. It is indeed expected by the end of October the IPO di Intercos, the Italian multinational that produces cosmetics for many groups in the sector. The ipo should start by the end of October and will take place with a private placement reserved for qualified investors. The operation will be carried out through Public Opvs, ie with newly issued ordinary shares of the company for a foreseeable total of up to 60 million. Dario Ferrari "will maintain control of the company following the offer, also through the adoption of an increased voting mechanism", underlines the company.
THE PIECES OF NINETY
The following month, i.e. in November, the maxi IPO should arrive Ariston Thermo, the group controlled by the Merloni family which has brands such as Ariston, Chaffoteaux, Elco, Racold, Atag, NTI, Cuenod, Ecoflam and Thermowatt in its portfolio. The company has already chosen the global coordinators (Mediobanca, Intesa Sanpaolo and Goldman Sachs), while the former number one of CDP, Claudio Costamagna, will act as consultant to the family. Based on the provisions, the free float will be between 25-30 per cent and also in this case the placement will be reserved for institutional investors.
More distant in time, but equally awaited, is the IPO of Eni Retail & Renewables, scheduled for 2022. For the moment what is known is that after the operation the group of the six-legged dog will keep majority shareholding, while to get more details it will be necessary to wait for Eni's capital markets day, scheduled for next November 22nd. According to Barclays analysts, the new company could be worth between 8,1 and 10,3 billion euros, thus making it a candidate to become the largest listing in recent years.
Attention also to the car where important news could come from the companies of the Agnelli family. Let's start with Cnh Industrial, which at the beginning of 2022 will spin off the on-highway activities that will merge into the company Iveco Group. In this case there will be no IPO, but CNH shareholders will find two different shares in their portfolio. In the meantime, some news could arrive on the spin off of Comau. According to rumors, the company that builds robots for assembly lines could debut on the Milan Stock Exchange in the first part of 2022. All eyes, for the moment, are all on the Stellantis investor day scheduled for November, when it could listing be made official.
THE OTHER FRESH-MASTERS
In the financial sphere, it is ready to land on Aim Italia Intermonte which presented the pre-admission communication to Borsa Italiana on 5 October. The company will carry out an institutional placement of a maximum of 13.750.000 ordinary shares for a total, including the shares covered by the Greenshoe, equal to 42,8% of the outstanding shares. The price range is between 2,60 and 2,90 euros per share, a figure that corresponds to a capitalization of between approximately 83,6 and 93,2 million euros net of treasury shares and between 94,1 and 105 million including treasury shares. The book building period started on Wednesday 6 October. In the context of listing, Intesa Sanpaolo operates as Global Coordinator, Bookrunner and Specialist, Intermonte SIM as Co-Lead Manager, BPER Banca as Nominated Advisor.
Expected for 2022 are finally the debuts on Aim Italia of Hepta (refrigerators), Techno probe (Semiconductors), Corporate file (medical prostheses) From Nora (electrochemical plants) e Fedrigoni (paper industry), while second Milano Finanza also Svass Biosana (medical devices) e Face (automatic gates) could soon land on the list of small and medium-sized enterprises.
