After the much painful approval of the prospectus by Consob, which took place during the night, on 21 April the troubled capital increase of over 1.5 billion by Banca Popolare di Vicenza (BPVI) can finally take off, which serves to secure the institute and to list it on the stock exchange. WHAT HAPPENED
That things were going badly for the Vicenza institute became evident when Unicredit, which at first committed itself to guaranteeing the operation, decided to back down, obviously considering the risk of finding itself with the vast majority too real. of BPVI shares in portfolio. So then the Atlante fund came into play, which was created precisely to guarantee the most urgent and most risky capital increases with a “system” operation, and therefore that of BPVI first of all, followed by that of Veneto Banca .
Now, the problem is that the Atlante fund will subscribe the newly issued BPvi shares at a price of 0.1 euros each, which corresponds to the lowest part of the range indicated by the Vicenza institute between 0.1 and 3 euros. Yes, because one of the anomalies of this capital increase is that the price will be decided only when the transaction is completed. Normally, however, the price for subscribing the newly issued securities is indicated ex ante. The anomaly is linked to the fact that, together with the capital increase, the bank is expected to land on the Stock Exchange (IPO). And in the IPO, the definitive price is generally indicated at the end of the procedure. If that were not enough, the fork indicated between 0.1 and 3 euros is so large that it is difficult to hypothesize what the final price may be. OLD SHAREHOLDERS CLEARED
But if Atlante has to take the field with the unexercised shares, a highly probable hypothesis at the moment (vice versa Unicredit would not have called out), as mentioned, it will subscribe the securities for 0.1 euro each and that price, the lowest possible, will be valid for all. “Everyone will buy at the same price,” said BPVI CEO Francesco Iorio yesterday. And this means that the historical shareholders of BPVI who will not adhere to the increase and who still paid 62.5 euros each in the summer of 2014 will be practically zeroed.
That threw a bad air for the historical members of the Popolare di Vicenza, historic fiefdom of the former president and wine entrepreneur Gianni Zonin, it was already understood at the beginning of the year, when for the withdrawal following the transformation of the bank into a joint stock company, a price of 6.3 euro was identified, much higher than today’s 10 cents but much less than 60 abundant euros two years ago. In short, similarly to what recently happened with the Saipem capital increase, the BPVI shareholders who do not join the operation will find themselves in the portfolio of securities that will be worth much less, almost nothing. THE BANK IS WORTH 10 MILLION
To explain the situation and Giorgio Meletti from Fatto Quotidiano: “BPVI has around 100 million shares. A year ago, according to the decision of experts appointed by the president-boss Gianni Zonin, 62.5 euros each, for a theoretical total (given that the bank was not and is not yet listed on the stock exchange) of 6.2 billion EUR”. While today the “saviors”, that is the Atlante fund led by Alessandro Penati(pictured), “they decided that those shares are worth 10 cents each and 10 million euros in all. To make a 1.5 billion capital increase at 10 cents per share, 15 billion will have to be issued, a number compared to which it is easy to understand how much the 100 million shares currently held by the 119 thousand historical shareholders will weigh. So – Meletti sums up – BPVI is now worth 10 million euros, while in the 2015 budget approved on 26 March the share capital was worth 377 million euros “. THE DETAILS OF THE INCREASE
The fact is that with Consob’s approval of the prospectus, on 21 April the public offer for the subscription and admission to trading on the stock exchange of the ordinary shares of Popolare di Vicenza was officially launched. The offer period ends on April 28, except for extensions or early closures, and at the same time the price at which the new shares will be subscribed will be announced. 25% of the offer, for an amount of 375 million, is aimed at small shareholders and 75%, equal to 1.125 billion, to institutional investors for a total of 1.5 billion. In the event that shareholders subscribe for a total amount exceeding 20% ​​of the global offer, up to 45% of the global offer may be reserved for them for a ceiling of 675 million.THE QUESTION OF THE OPA
The condition set by Atlante to guarantee the capital increase is that the fund, regardless of the quantity of shares found in the portfolio at the end of the transaction, is not forced by Consob to launch a takeover bid (Takeover bid) on Bpvi. The fact that after Consob’s okay the operation has started seems to indicate that the Supervisory Commission chaired by Giuseppe Vegas has provided Atlante with reassurance in this regard.
