Докато голяма част от Европа е под натиска на политически сътресения, периодът на сравнителна стабилност при управлението на премиера Матео Ренци помага за бума на сделките по сливания и поглъщания в Италия. Те са скочили с над 400% на годишна база през първото тримесечие на 2015-а до обща стойност от 19.3 млрд. щ. долара, сочат данни, събрани от агенция "Блумбърг". Този ръст е най-висок в еврорегиона и е многократно над средното за Европа 14-процeнтно увеличение.
Активността е повлияна най-силно от покупките на китайската
Driven by transactions including ChemChina's purchase of tire-maker Pirelli SpA and Dufry AG's acquisition of airport retailer World Duty Free SpA, the flourishing deals activity is being hailed by Renzi's government as a vindication of its push for economic and institutional reform while welcoming foreign investment. It's also a contrast to previous administrations which insisted on Italian firms staying Italian.
(Reuters) – China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) said on Monday it had signed an agreement to buy a 1.574 percent stake in Italian tire maker Pirelli (PECI.MI) held by Edizione Srl.
Last month ChemChina agreed to buy into the world's fifth-largest tire maker in a 7.3 billion-euro ($7.7 billion) deal that will put the 143-year-old Italian company in Chinese hands.
ChemChina now has more than 30 percent of Pirelli's ordinary shares under contract, the company said in a statement.
Monday's agreement also contemplates the sale of exchangeable shares representing 3.034 percent of Pirelli's share capital, indirectly held by Edizione through Schematrentaquattro SpA, ChemChina added in the statement.
"I've seen the attitude of foreign CEOs shifting: In the fall they were skeptical because only a few reforms had gone through," Marco Simoni, an economic adviser to Renzi, said in an interview at Palazzo Chigi, the premier's official residence in Rome. "Then things changed after we did the labor reform and cut taxes on firms."
It's a work in progress. Italy is struggling to emerge from a three-year recession, the longest since World War II, and government debt is among the highest in Europe. The World Bank lists Italy 56th out of 189 countries for ease of doing business, and ranks it 147th in enforcing contracts.
Beating Peers
Italy still managed to top its euro peers in M&A activity in the period January to April 2015, up from fifth place for all 2014. Across Europe, Italy was second only to the U.K. in terms of the increase recorded in completed and pending deals in the year to date. Germany, France and Spain all ranked lower, each witnessing declines in deals activity. Switzerland, which placed third after Italy, saw a 41 percent increase year-on-year to a total volume of $13.9 billion.
The paradox is that Renzi, 40, although not elected, has emerged as a guarantor of political stability after quelling internal squabbles in his coalition and watching the opposition divide. He was appointed premier in February 2014 by then-president Giorgio Napolitano, and saw his Democratic Party win 41 percent of the vote in the European elections in May, the highest score for a single party since the 1950s.
That relative calm in the euro region's third-biggest economy may be enough for businesses to turn to their advantage, especially when compared to what came before.
Prodi, Berlusconi
In 2006, Autostrade SpA, Italy's biggest toll-road operator – now Atlantia SpA – abandoned a 13.6 billion-euro merger with Spain's Abertis Infraestructuras SA because of opposition from then-Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government.
The following year, Italian investors allied with Telefonica SA took control of Telecom Italia SpA to fend off an offer from billionaire Carlos Slim.
A similar model was used in 2008 by then-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to try to avert the sale of loss-making national airline Alitalia SpA to Air France-KLM Group. His unsuccessful plan was revisited in 2013 by Renzi's immediate predecessor, Enrico Letta. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways PJSC ended up acquiring a 49 percent stake in the Italian company last year.
Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffe, a professor of business strategy at Milan's Bocconi University, said that Renzi has yet to tackle some major obstacles to business in Italy including an erratic judicial system. Yet he credits the country's youngest ever premier with burying „a protectionist attitude'' which endures for example in France, and making it easier for international corporations to hire in Italy.
'More Upside'
"Italy has more upside because it is still lagging behind in terms of recovery," said Maffe. "So it's intelligent today to invest in Italy, banking on a quicker pace of recovery compared to other countries."
Nor is the pace likely to slow. Last month, parliament approved a law to turn the country's 10 largest cooperative banks into joint-stock companies within 18 months. Those banks "are looking for M&A opportunities," according to Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan, who predicts an acceleration of activity on the banking front.
Padoan, speaking in a Bloomberg Television interview from Singapore last week, said that while it's exclusively a corporate decision to push for deals, the Renzi government is "preparing the level playing field for companies."
"We are increasing the incentives for doing it," he said.
Франция, Испания – минус 95%, минус 90%; Германия – минус 50%, Португалия – минус 45%; Холандия – около 5%; Финландия – 10%; Ирландия – 20%, Белгия – малко под 200%; Австрия – 200 процента.
Холандия – грубо 13.5 млрд. щ. долара; Германия – 13 млрд. долара; Франция – 9.5 млрд.; Финландия – около 8 млрд.; Австрия – 4 млрд. долара; Ирландия – 3.5 млрд.; Белгия и Испания – по 2 млрд. долара; Португалия – 1 млрд. долара.
London: Mergers and acquisitions in Italy in the first three months of 2015 has nearly matched the value of such transactions for all of the previous year, with hungry investors encouraged by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s push for reforms.
Italy was the third most-targeted country in Europe in the first quarter of the year, accounting for 11.6 per cent of European M&A activity, ahead of Germany and the Nordics. Britain accounts for 35 per cent and France for 12 per cent.
It recorded $20.6 billion worth of deals in the first three months of the year, up 260 per cent from the same period last year, according to Thomson Reuters data. That put it close to matching its 12-month performance last year, worth an overall $27.6 billion.
Lawyers and bankers advising European companies on deals attribute the surge in deal-making to investors’ growing confidence in Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s ability to reform Italy’s economy and make its institutions more efficient. A recent reform of the labour market and moves to cut business tax are often cited by Italian and international bankers.
However, the resurgence of deals also means that investors have swooped on iconic brands such as Italian tyremaker Pirelli, which last week said it was giving up control to Chinese rival ChemChina in a 7.1 billion euro deal.
The emergence of international buyers is also seen by deal-makers as a sign of more transparent and open business practices in the country, where foreign buyers have at times been sidelined regardless of their merits in past auction processes to the benefit of Italian bidders.
Italy, which expects to post growth of around 0.7 per cent after a three-year recession, is now seen as a more attractive place for investment at a time when low interest rates, cheap debt and the slump in oil prices have made international investors more determined to make deals.
“There is a momentum for deal-making in Italy as the country is more open to outside investors,” said Luigi de Vecchi, chairman of corporate and investment banking for continental Europe at Citi. “This is mainly due to political stability and a perception of Italy offering better value than the rest of Europe.”
Italy’s M&A fervour follows years of stagnation and the flight of international investors at the start of the financial crisis. The price of Italian assets has dropped and the prolonged recession has made managers desperate to raise fresh capital.
Pirelli’s deal with ChemChina will create a global leader with a market share of 10 per cent. Other significant transactions, notably in the financial services sector, are in the works such as the sale of Istituto Centrale Banche Popolari Italiane (ICBPI), a banking services provider held by several “popolari”, or cooperative, banks.
The ICBPI sale comes amid a landmark reform of the shareholding voting rules in the poplars banks which will pave the way to industry consolidation. Italy’s third biggest lender, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, is also seen as a possible target after a 3 billion euro share sale takes place in the coming months.
But while banking consolidation will gather pace this year, the action so far has focused on other sectors such as industrials and retail.
Switzerland’s Dufry agreed last week to buy a majority stake in World Duty Free in a deal which valued the Italian firm at 3.6 billion euros and will create the world’s biggest travel retailer.
Last year Renzi set the tone for an M&A pickup, prompting a series of shake-ups at Italy’s state-controlled companies. The arrival of new managers sponsored by Renzi at some key state groups such as Finmeccanica, who tackled long-lasting issues and delivered on commitments about asset sales and deleveraging, have rebuilt confidence in Italian corporates and encouraged deal-making too.
“There has been a change of attitude and a change of pace,” said Massimiliano Ruggieri, head of investment banking at Morgan Stanley in Italy. “Managers have shifted away from a conservative stance to a more active approach when it comes to deal-making.”
Fiat Chrysler Chief Sergio Marchionne, who is no stranger to bold strategic moves, said on the sideline of the Geneva Motor show in March that he was open to a tie-up with industry peers in what would be his last big bang deal before he retires.
The bulk of Italian companies are seen as sellers and have increasingly drawn interest from deep-pocketed Chinese and other Asian investors. Four of the largest deals announced in Italy since the start of the year have been conducted by Asian companies.
“Chinese investors are looking at a number of dossiers. They’re hungry for deals,” said Unicredit’s Vincenzo Tortorici, global head of M&A.
The Italian banker however cautioned that some of these Chinese buyers may face a “cultural clash” as they tend to believe their money can be enough for a quick fix, undermining broader operational and strategic challenges at ailing Italian companies.
But the bulk of the deals finalised in 2015 have been in the works for several months, if not years. Italy is still far from being Europe’s favourite spot for quick bargain deals. Negotiations are lengthy and only resilient buyers who are willing to come to terms with complicated company structures and family vendors are rewarded.
“You need to wait, even for years, before the stars are aligned. Perseverance is key,” said Tortorici.
Dufry to acquire World Duty Free for €1.3bn
30th March, 2015 by Melita Kiely
Swiss company Dufry has secured a deal to acquire a 50.1% stake in Italian airport retailer World Duty Free for €1.3 billion, making it the world’s largest travel retailer.
Dufry-World-Duty-Free-acquisition
Dufry has agreed to buy World Duty Free for €1.3bn
World Duty Free manages 495 stores in 98 airports, while Dufry operates 1,650 stores in more than 60 countries employing approximately 20,000 workers.
Announced on Saturday, Edizione, the holding company owned by the Benetton family that controls World Duty Free, agreed to sell its majority stake to Dufry for €10.25 per share valuing the entire enterprise at approximately €3.6bn.
The purchase is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015, giving Dufry a 24% travel retail market share and projected annual sales of €8.3 billion.
Dufry believes the acquisition will create a series of “new growth opportunities” and “further develop our global offering”.
“The acquisition of WDF is a truly unique and highly transformational transaction for Dufry and is equally a milestone for the travel retail industry overall,” commented Julian Diaz, CEO of Dufry. “WDF’s business is highly complementary to our existing footprint and will reinforce our leading position in the Mediterranean, the Americas as well as the Middle East and Asia.
“The transaction will transform Dufry into an even more distinct global business with a balanced exposure to developed and emerging markets.
“Dufry has great respect for the achievements of WDF and we look forward to working with our more than 9,500 new colleagues in 20 countries and across more than 100 locations.
“Ultimately what we want to achieve is to develop a better company for our employees, customers, suppliers and landlords and a more valuable asset for our shareholders.”
In 2014, Dufry reported a record turnover of US$4.3bn while World Duty Free recorded turnover of US$2.6bn.
The acquisition of World Duty Free is Dutry’s second big purchase in less than a year, after it bought Nuance Group for US$1.7bn in June 2014.
