Trevi soars on the Milan Stock Exchange as it awaits further bids. Icop’s takeover bid is already trading at a discount
The battle for Trevi is driving up the share price on the Milan Stock Exchange, and the market appears to be betting on further bids because the two offers currently on the table – those from Icop (a voluntary public offer) and Webuild (a mandatory public offer) – are currently at a discount to the engineering firm’s stock market valuation. On Monday 28 September, Trevi shares closed at €4.99, up 3.14 per cent, having also breached the €5 mark. Webuild’s cash offer currently values the company at €4.50 per share, almost €0.50 less than Trevi’s market price. Meanwhile, Icop’s bid, submitted on Friday 25 September, which is in shares rather than cash (0.165 Icop ordinary shares for each Trevi share), currently values Trevi at 2.45 per cent less than the stock market price of the underground engineering company.
The two proposals, however, are not directly comparable due to the different nature of what they offer: on the one hand, a guaranteed cash sum (Webuild); on the other, a block of shares subject to market valuations. Icop currently has a market capitalisation of €940 million on the Milan Stock Exchange; this is approximately 20 times the profit analysts expect for the whole of 2026 and more than 10 times its book value.
In the coming days, presumably in the second half of the week, Trevi’s board of directors will decide on the improved bid submitted by Icop. Webuild is not, at present, making any statements regarding any counter-bids it might make. But let us take things in order.
Two offers have been made for Trevi, a world leader in foundations and underground engineering: Icop has launched a public exchange offer (PEO) for all the shares, whilst Webuild has launched a public takeover bid (PTO). Both initial offers were rejected by Trevi’s Board of Directors, as they were deemed ‘unfavourable’ to shareholders, whilst the initial consideration offered by both Icop and Webuild – according to the Board – ‘does not reflect the company’s true value’. Yesterday marked the start of the acceptance period for Webuild’s takeover bid. The bid will close on 20 November, unless extended. According to Webuild, the integration of Trevi’s specialist expertise in special foundations into a global industrial platform – which closed 2025 with revenues of €13.6 billion and an order book of €54 billion as at 30 June 2026 – will enable Trevi to continue and expand its business, with direct access to the group’s network, which has been present in 50 countries for over 120 years. Furthermore, Webuild and Trevi are already working side by side on some of the major international and Italian construction sites, from the Rogun dam in Tajikistan to Line C of the Rome metro; a relationship that the transaction would enable to be consolidated into a long-term project. There is also an offer for Trevi from Icop, which – following the rejection of its initial bid – increased the initial consideration by 24.1 per cent last Friday. Icop’s Board of Directors has decided, in line with the regulations and the competing bid, to extend the acceptance period from 16 October to 20 November 2026.
Founded over sixty years ago and headquartered in Cesena, Trevi Finanziaria Industriale employs around 3,100 people and operates through two complementary divisions: Trevi, which specialises in geotechnical works and special foundations, and Soilmec, a company active in the design and manufacture of specialist machinery and equipment.
