By Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN (Reuters) -Exor, the holding company of Italy’s Agnelli family, said on Wednesday it had kicked off the sale of a stake worth approximately 4% in Ferrari from which it expects to raise around 3 billion euros ($3.15 billion).
Exor said the sale would reduce concentration in its investment portfolio and give it ammunition for “a sizeable new acquisition, when such an opportunity presents itself”.
It will also use proceeds from the deal to fund a new 1 billion euro share buyback programme.
Ferrari, whose shares are close to an all-time high giving the luxury sportscar maker a market value of around 85 billion euros when excluding treasury shares, currently accounts for around 50% of Exor’s net asset value (NAV).
Following the sale, Exor will remain Ferrari’s top investor with a 20% stake and 30% of voting rights.
“Exor remains fully committed as a long-term shareholder of Ferrari,” it said in a statement.
The deal will not alter a shareholder agreement between Exor and Piero Ferrari, the son of founder Enzo and Ferrari’s second largest investor. Exor and Piero Ferrari will retain combined voting rights close to 50%.
To sell the stake, Exor has hired JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to lead a share placement known as ‘accelerated bookbuilding’ (ABB) procedure.
In a separate statement, Ferrari said it would invest up to 300 million euros in the ABB to buy back its own shares, covering up to 10% of the amount Exor is offering.
Ferrari said it would conduct the purchases under its current share buyback programme.
The majority of the proceeds from the stake placement, which is expected to close early on Thursday, will be used for a single acquisition to broaden Exor’s current portfolio, a source close to the company said.
Exor is the single largest shareholder in automaker Stellantis and Dutch group Philips. It controls manufacturers Iveco and CNH, as well as Serie A soccer club Juventus.
It also has investments in healthcare, luxury goods, tech and media. ($1 = 0.9529 euros)
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Urvi Dugar; Editing by Valentina Za)
