Ferretti finally returns to Piazza Affari. After the go-ahead from the assemblies arrived on 18 June, the luxury yacht company confirmed its intention to proceed with the so-called dual listing of ordinary shares. Translated: after listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, iThe Ferretti title will also arrive on Euronext Milan, regulated market organized and managed by Borsa Italiana.
The great return of Ferretti to Piazza Affari
More than a debut, it's better to talk about a great return. The nautical group from Romagna, which controls prestigious brands such as Wally, Ferretti Yachts, Pershing, Itama, Riva, Crn and Custom Line, had already been listed on Piazza Affari. Ferretti had in fact made his debut in Milan 23 years ago, in 2000, when he was still under the control of Norberto Ferretti. Two years later came the total takeover bid of the private equity fund Allow and the consequent delisting.
Since then, the company has changed hands several times: in 2009 Permira sold the company to Candover fund, which in turn three years later ceded it to Weichai Holding. The Chinese manufacturing giant invested in a complex debt restructuring process, to try to improve Ferretti's fortunes after the subprime crisis. The Chinese group invested 178 million euros in equity and at the same time purchased Ferretti's debt from the Oaktree fund, RBS and Strategic Value Partners. Debt that was converted into equity, pushing Weichai's overall stake to 75 percent stake. At the same time, the Rbs and SVP banks converted the rest of the debt into equity, reaching 25%. Weichai subsequently rounded up his share.
Thus we arrive at 2016, when Ferretti entered the capital Piero Ferrari with 13,6% of the capital, through the family holding company F Investments.
The dual listing of Ferretti
"An offer by Ferretti International Holding of the existing ordinary shares, including the greenshoe, is envisaged to support the liquidity of the Euronext Milan share," reads the note released by Ferretti. According to the provisions, for the purposes of landing in Piazza Affari Ferretti International, which currently holds 63,75% of the company's share capital, will sell up to 28,75% of its shares. The authorization has already arrived.
“The final structure of the offer, together with the other relevant terms and conditions, will be determined before the launch of the offer” which will be “reserved exclusively for qualified investors”.
As regards the timing, compatibly with market conditions, Ferretti intends to proceed with the offer as soon as the relative authorizations have been obtained. To this end, the shipbuilding company has already filed a prospectus with Consob.
As part of the offer, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Unicredit will act as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners. Equita and Berenberg will act as joint bookrunners. Unicredit also acts as Listing Agent in the context of the listing.
Ferretti: "Strategic Asia, but with the listing in Milan more investors and more liquidity"
In the note Ferretti specifies that, “although Asia remains strategic, as already communicated, the quotation would allow for broaden the composition of its shareholder base in some regions, such as Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, which represent the main markets of the Group”.
In particular, Ferretti expects the listing to attract a more potential investors in share trading, thus broadening the composition of the shareholder base and increasing the volume of share trading, with the aim of improve liquidity and the profile of the company's stock in the global market.
