Will the government also intervene on Ferretti’s Chinese manoeuvres?
Ferretti, a shipbuilding company controlled by the Chinese, is heading towards dual listing: not only Hong Kong, but also Euronext Milano. Weichai, however, will drop up to 28.7 percent: a way to avoid golden power (unlike Pirelli)? All the details
Ferretti Group, a shipbuilding company based in Italy but part of the Chinese state group Weichai, has confirmed its intention to proceed with the dual listing ( dual listing , in jargon) of its shares: not only on the Hong Kong stock exchange, in China , where he has been present since last year; but also at Euronext Milan, in Italy.
WEICHAI WILL SELL 28.75 PERCENT OF FERRETTI
To support the liquidity of the Ferretti stock on the Milanese market, the selling shareholder – i.e. Weichai, through Ferretti International Holding – intends to proceed with the sale of the ordinary shares and has obtained authorization to sell up to 28.75 percent of the share capital . Weichai currently owns a 63.75 percent stake in Ferretti.
ALL NUMBERS OF FERRETTI
As Reuters reports, today Ferretti's shares are trading at 23.3 Hong Kong dollars, slightly more than the offer price of the Hong Kong listing, in March 2022. The company's valuation is around 7.9 billion Hong Kong dollars, equal to approximately 1 billion euros.
Ferretti owns the Riva, Pershing and Wally brands and has a 15 percent share of the world market for luxury yachts over nine metres. In 2022 the company reported net revenues of 1030.1 million euros.
THE MEANING OF THE TRANSACTION ON THE EURONEXT MILAN
In a press release, Ferretti declares that "although Asia remains strategic", the listing on Euronext Milan "would allow the company to broaden the composition of its shareholding in some regions, such as Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, which represent the main markets of the group". In essence, Ferretti aims to attract many investors and to expand the composition of the shareholder base.
WHAT WILL THE MELONI GOVERNMENT DO?
One wonders if the government of Giorgia Meloni will intervene in some way in the dual listing operation of Ferretti, considering the golden power already exercised on another company under Chinese control: it is Pirelli, the tire manufacturer, whose new pact will strengthen the position of petrochemical conglomerate Sinochem.
– Read also: Why the government plans a slap for Tronchetti Provera's chinoiserie at Pirelli
It is possible that the dilution of Weichai's weight in Ferretti through the sale of 28.7 percent stake also serves to avoid golden power .
In Ansaldo Energia, a company that deals with energy plants, it seems that the Chinese shareholder (the Chinese electricity company Shanghai Electric, which owns a 12 percent stake) has no intention of participating in the capital increase operation, of which therefore, only Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (88 per cent) will take charge. Shanghai Electric, moreover, had not even joined the previous recapitalization, reducing its stake from 40 percent to the current 12.
On the other hand, no changes to the shareholding structure of CDP Reti, the company of the Cassa depositi e prestiti group that invests in Italian energy infrastructure through stakes in Snam, Terna and Italgas, seem to be in sight. State Grid Europe, a division of the Chinese electricity company State Grid Corporation of China, owns 35 percent of CDP Reti; Cassa Depositi e Prestiti has just over 59 per cent.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/ferretti-doppia-quotazione-euronext-milan/ on Mon, 29 May 2023 10:41:42 +0000.