Year of lean cows 2018 for freshmen of Piazza Affari: until October there were only two IPOs that the Milan Stock Exchange has seen completed and concern Carel Industries and Piovan group.
In detail, Carel is a Padua-based company that deals with air conditioning systems. It has been on the market since June 11, having already gained 34,5%. Piovan is instead a world leading company operating in 70 countries that deals with ancillary equipment, engineering solutions and services for the plastics industry, valued in the current placement at around half a billion euros and whose listings on Piazza Affari will start next Monday 19th October.
What the Milan Stock Exchange is collecting is only the mirror of what the main international markets see every day: negative bond balances, skyrocketing spreads and adverse political conditions reflected in a collapsing market. Any placement at the moment discounts a higher Italy risk and the multiples that have grown in recent years have now decreased by 10-15%.
In the face of this uncertainty, the words of Stefano Rangone, president of Mediobanca: “Today's market is very selective and in this context companies with a clear competitive advantage, high and credible growth, a strong share of international exports that can still generate strong interest have the advantage. Investors are potentially receptive to those who offer interesting opportunities: for this reason, entrepreneurs with similar characteristics should not be frightened by uncertainty and start listing procedures”.
Numerous companies have slowed down on IPOs for 2018, even of large dimensions: from Sigaro Toscano, the tobacco of the Montezemolo family, which postponed listing due to adverse market conditions just last week. For the same reason, the Tuscan utility Estra renounced its listing on 29 May. The Italian food giant Eataly has made a big about-face, postponing all decisions regarding the IPO to 2019. The FCA subsidiary in automotive technologies, Magneti Marelli, which is worth 5-6 billion, is also thinking of an alternative to the IPO and is negotiating with the fund American Kkr. Alpitour and Nexi are also on standby.
