Cold shower for Webuild and for the market, surprised by the suddenness exit of Unicredit from the capital of the construction company, born from the integration of two large Italian companies, Salini and Impregilo, and from the Group's international success with the acquisition of other companies, such as Lane in the United States.
The operation
Unicredit, which entered Webuild in 2019 with a share close to 5% at a carrying price of 1.5 euros per share, yesterday carried out an accelerated Book Building (fast placement of a share on the market) for the entire 4.99% share of Webuild's capital or c12% of the free float .
The sale concerned 50.9 million shares of the Group, which were placed at a price of 2.2 euros per share, for a total value of 112 million euros. The price per share, although higher than the book price, is at a discount of 8.9% compared to yesterday's closing at 2.416 euros.
Stock plummeting on the stock market
Webuild shares opened rather poorly today on the stock market, coming quickly frozen due to excess decline due to panic selling, then readmitted to trading with a loss of around 5%. In the middle of the session the stock even expanded drop to around 6% at 2.27 euros per share. Very large exchanges for over 64 million pieces traded, compared to just over 6 million on the eve and around 14 million exchanged on particularly intense days. It must also be said that Webuild has gained around 30% since the beginning of the year.
Is a domino effect possible?
In addition to Unicredit, Webuild is also present in the capital Intesa Sanpaolo with a share of 4.6%. The two banks had entered the capital of the construction company with the subscription of the capital increase for Progetto Italia. Webuild's current shareholder base then includes: Salini with 39.7% e CPD Equity with 16.5%. The floating on the market is equal to 37.2%.
What the analysts think
For analysts, the decline in the stock could also represent a purchasing opportunity: buying at a discount to take advantage of the subsequent upside. The assessments and opinions expressed by analysts on Webuild are very positive. For Exane Bnp Paribas, Intermonte and Mediobanca the stock is Outperform. Akros Bank advised to “accumulate” indicating a Target Price of 2.4 euros, while Kepler Cheuvreux recommended a Buy with TP at 2.7 euros.
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