MILAN. The Benetton family, with the new course set by Alessandro, is charging up: after the sale of Autostrade to the consortium led by CDP, the reorganization of Atlantia, with the announced takeover bid for Edizione in alliance with Blackstone, here’s the move – about which there have been rumors since April – on Autogrill. The restaurant chain has approved the industrial combination with the Swiss Dufry.
A colossus with 12 billion in revenues will be born: it will operate in a potential market of 105 billion, more than four times that of the catering in which Autogrill operates, uniting the airport shops and not only of Dufry, with a well-diversified geographical subdivision with the idea to create value, starting from 80 million a year of cost synergies. The group will have exposure to 2.3 billion travelers. The president of Edizione, Alessandro Benetton, who will be honorary president of the new group, summarizes: this union “will allow the creation of the world champion of the sector” and allows “the continuation of the growth and development path of Autogrill, an asset that for Edizione will remain of strategic nature “. Edition, the safe of the Treviso family, which today owns 50.3% of Autogrill, will find itself the first shareholder of the new group, with a stake that may vary between 20 and 25.2% depending on the level of membership in the exchange of shares as part of the mandatory takeover bid that will follow (0.158 Dufry shares for each Autogrill). The alternative, for the shareholders of the Italian company, is to receive “an equivalent value” of € 6.33 per share.
On the stock market, the Italian stock adjusted by selling 7.42% to 6.34 euros in one session. Leading the operation will be the Swiss Dufry (up 3.78% yesterday to 32.42 francs): at the end of August the shareholders’ meeting will be called to give a green light. Making the reverse move would have been much more complex, due to the fragmented shareholding of the Swiss company: thus, however, with the yes of the Benettons, the wedding can already be said to be mortgaged. The group (which will have a new name) will be listed on the Zurich stock exchange. For Piazza Affari, another excellent farewell. However, it will take some time for the approval of Palazzo Chigi (which will evaluate whether to use the powers of the “golden power”) and the imprimatur of a handful of Antitrust authorities around the world. It will take up to nine months for this alone, so much so that it is expected to close the double operation (the entry of Edizione plus the Opas) – which, as financial advisers, BofA worked for Edizione, Citi, Intesa Sanpaolo and Mediobanca for Autogrill, and, on the Dufry side, Ubs and Credit Suisse – in the second quarter of next year.
In the meantime, the companies will continue separated. However, governance is ready. The CEO of Edizione, Enrico Laghi, and the president of Autogrill, Paolo Roverato, will be vice-presidents. Autogrill CEO Gianmario Tondato da Ruos will become executive president of North American operations. Leading the group will be Dufry’s top management, executive chairman Juan Carlos Torres and CEO Xavier Rossinyol. With the new move, Alessandro Benetton marks the definitive change of gear for Edizione. The shadow of the tragedy of the Genoa bridge remains, but the direction appears to have radically changed.