Collapse of Webuild in Piazza Affari: -9.8% to 2 euros. What caused the stock of the general contractor led by Pietro Salini (photo) to collapse was the announcement of the placement of a convertible bond. Salini Spa, wholly controlled by Salini Costruttori (main shareholder of Webuild with 39.82% of the capital and 50.15% voting rights), has in fact issued a 225 million bond convertible into Webuild shares to repay a bank debt . The maturity of the bonds is set for May 2028. At the same time, a placement of Webuild securities was started for a maximum of 33 million shares (approximately 3% of the capital) by some buyers of the bond to hedge the market risk on the bond investment . The placement was completed at a price of 2.08 euros per share (9% discount compared to Wednesday’s closing).
The convertible bond provides for issuance at par (100% of the nominal value), a coupon rate of 4% with quarterly payment, a strike price of 2.6 euros per share. There is also the possibility for the issuer to pay an alternative amount in cash in place of the delivery of shares in the event of conversion of the bond. The company said it will use the proceeds from the deal to prepay the bank loan and for other corporate purposes. The operation, the group points out, was highly appreciated by the financial community, with interest received from around 80 investors, mainly international, and a demand of around 4 times the offer. Along the same lines, Equita analysts who, after reiterating that Webuild’s shares are affected by some technical factors linked to bondholders’ hedging activity, recommended focusing on the group with a target price of 3 euros. Intermonte also maintained a positive recommendation (“outperform”).
The reports, however, were not enough to save Webuild from the flood of sales.
Meanwhile, yesterday the subsidiary Csc Costruzioni was awarded a contract worth over 302 million for the New Industrial Railway Plant in Ticino, with a 67% share equal to 202 million.
