Intesa’s decision to sell the stake in Nexi follows a rise in share price last week, driven by strong quarterly results, and the transaction is in line with the market value of Nexi shares, based on the closing price of €9.76 per share on Monday
Intesa Sanpaolo divests its 5.1% stake in Nexi. (Credit: StockSnap from Pixabay)
Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo has completed the sale of its entire 5.1% stake in Nexi, which represents around 67 million ordinary shares of Nexi, at a price of €8.7 per share.
The Italian lender has raised total proceeds of around €584m from the sale, which was carried out through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure.
Formerly known as Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane (ICBPI), Nexi is an Italian bank specialising in payment systems such as Nexi Payments.
In December 2020, the Italian payments technology company purchased Intesa Sanpaolo’s merchant acquiring business.
Intesa Sanpaolo also acquired a 9.9% stake in Nexi for a total of €653m.
The transaction also included a marketing and distribution partnership between the two companies for more than 20 years.
The sale would not have an impact on Intesa’s strategic partnership with Nexi, reported Reuters.
Nexi CEO Paolo Bertoluzzo then said: “The agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo represents another important step in the development of Nexi’s strategy, that confirms itself to be a key partner for the banking system in the field of digital payments development, a leverage for the modernization of Italy.”
Intesa’s stake in Nexi was reduced as a proportion of the company’s share capital diluted with the issue of new shares after the merger deals with Nets and SIA.
The decision to sell the stake follows a rise in Nexi’s share price last week, driven by strong quarterly results, said the publication.
The transaction is in line with the market value of Nexi shares, based on the closing price of €9.76 per share on Monday, down 1.89% from the previous session.
Intesa’s own corporate and investment banking arm, together with BofA Securities, and JP Morgan served as joint bookrunners on this transaction.