Nexi down after placement by Unicredit

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Nexi down almost two points at Piazza Affari after Unicredit placed more than 1% of its capital. In detail, the Andrea Orcel-led bank sold via an accelerated book building 1.1 per cent of the capital at EUR 5.735 per share, some 2.5 per cent below the closing price on 18 July. The move was part of another transaction between UniCredit and Fides, a Clessidra vehicle that signed a collar on 1.4% of the capital with the bank. UniCredit would therefore have launched the operation to hedge the long position taken on Nexi through the purchase of the call option (sold by Fides as part of the collar stipulated between the parties). In addition to controlling Fides, Hourglass also holds a 15% stake in Mercury Uk, Nexi's largest shareholder, which holds 9.3% of the capital. Mercury, in which Bain Capital and Advent are also shareholders, is not affected by this transaction.

"The transaction through collar was expected after rumours emerged a few weeks ago about negotiations between the partners with Hourglass on one side and Bain with Advent on the other for the transfer of the Nexi shares that Hourglassidra holds through its stake in Mercury and the other Hourglass vehicle, Fides," Intermonte's experts commented, pointing out that one of the conditions subject to negotiation between the partners concerned the refinancing of a 40 million loan granted by a consortium of banks.

"To repay the debt, Clessidra would then negotiate another loan with UniCredit through the Nexi share option transaction. We think that the contribution of the stakes to the individual funds could lead to future divestments given the different positions between them". According to Intermonte, however, the share that could potentially be the subject of divestment does not seem large and should not materialise in the short term. Meanwhile, the stockbroker confirmed its 'Outperform' recommendation with a price target of EUR 8.1 on Nexi.

Banca Akros also recommends buying the shares ('Buy'), with a price target of EUR 8.5. "We expect further news in the coming months on the debt refinancing side," the analysts commented, putting new sales in the medium term on Nexi shares. "However, we believe a re-rating should take place prior to any transactions, so we reiterate the 'Buy'," they concluded.