After having just taken over Credito Valtellinese, Credit Agricole Italia, which holds 82.3% of the share capital of FriulAdria, has launched a voluntary takeover bid on the remaining 17.2% of the subsidiary. The minority shares are in the hands of small shareholders who have held them since the institute was a popular and by some foundations in the area.
Credit Agricole Italia, led by CEO Giampiero Maioli, offers up to 40 euros per share, all in cash, divided between an immediate component of 35 euros, which will be paid on the settlement date of the offer and a deferred component of 5 euro, which will be paid after three years (in the third quarter of 2024) “and on condition that members maintain certain requirements”. The conditions set include that between June 16, 2021 and the same day of 2024, the selling shareholder maintains all existing contractual relationships with Credit Agricole, “except for the termination of loan agreements or for proven personal needs” and ” is not in default “against the credit institution.
FriulAdria is traded on the Hi-Mtf platform dedicated to small banks and this morning the share price travels around 29.5 euros, taking into account that trading is rarefied in this segment. The purpose of Credit Agricole is to delist the subsidiary. Considering both the immediate and the deferred component, the total maximum consideration incorporates a premium of 37.9% with respect to the last market price, while the immediate component alone includes a premium of 20.7% with respect to the last market price. This operation will cost the French group, present in Italy, up to 166 million euros.
The offer, explains Cai, is part of the single bank path “initiated by the group with the previous banks acquired and provides for the subsequent integration of FriulAdria into Cai by the second half of 2022”. The French group warns that, in consideration of the offer, “the scarce liquidity that still characterizes the shares and the proposed merger, it is intended that the revocation of the shares from trading on the Hi-Mtf will be requested once the offer has been completed” . In the end, recalls Cai, “the shares would not be traded on any market or multilateral system and could be more difficult to liquidate”.
The group expects to complete the offer by the third quarter of this year. Credit Agricole Italia will submit the offer document to Consob within the next 20 days, which will then be published following the approval by the authority on the stock exchange. As for FriulAdria, the bank was born and founded in Pordenone in 1911. After the development season in Friuli Venezia Giulia, in March 2007 it became part of the Credit Agricole Italia group with the aim of strengthening itself especially in Veneto. Today the institute has 195 points of sale in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto and almost 1,400 collaborators.
At 31 December 2020, the bank’s loans, chaired by the economist Chiara Mio and directed by Carlo Piana, amounted to 8 billion. The new disbursements in 2020 were close to one and a half billion euros, of which 856 million in Veneto and 534 in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The incidence of gross impaired loans on loans is 4.6%, that of net impaired loans is 2% (about half the national average). Also as at 31 December 2020, total deposits stood at 17 billion. Despite the pandemic, the 2020 budget closed with a net profit of 51.3 million. (All rights reserved)
