The public tender offer (OPA) launched by the Benetton family and the American investment fund Blackstone on Atlantia has exceeded the threshold of 90% of the capital, which will make it possible to withdraw the Italian motorway group from the Milan Stock Exchange, according to results released Thursday.
At first, the membership rate had only reached 88% and the Benetton family, the main shareholder of Atlanta with a share of 33.1%, had decided to reopen the offer period from November 21 to 25. .
The takeover was intended to delist Atlantia, which should be done “
as soon as possible in the coming weeks
,” said Schema Alfa, the vehicle created for this purpose, in a press release.
The offer price was set at 23 euros per share, plus a dividend of 0.74 euros.
The offer values the entire group at 19 billion euros, making it one of the largest takeover bids since the start of the year.
Since the reopening of the offer which lasts until Friday, more than 21.5 million additional shares representing 2.6% of the share capital of Atlantia have been acquired, thus making it possible to reach the threshold of 90% .
The Benetton family announced its takeover bid in April, overtaking the Spanish construction giant ACS, which at the time also had sights on the Italian motorway group.
The objective was to remove Atlantia from the coast and thus protect it from possible predators who would like to
strategic
”.
Read also Takeover bid on Atlantia: Benetton and Blackstone rise to 88% of the capital
Atlantia, which employs more than 30,000 people in 24 countries, manages five airports and more than 50 motorway concessions in ten countries.
In May, the Italian group sold Autostrade per l'Italia (Aspi), manager of the Genoa viaduct which collapsed in August 2018, to a consortium led by the Italian Caisse des dépôts (CDP), of which Blackstone is a part.
