By Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN (Reuters) – Exor, the holding company of Italy’s Agnelli family, raised about 3 billion euros ($3.14 billion) after selling a roughly 4% stake in Ferrari, it said on Thursday.
In announcing the disposal late on Wednesday, Exor had said the sale would reduce concentration in its investment portfolio and provide ammunition for “a sizeable new acquisition when such an opportunity presents itself”.
The company will also use proceeds from the deal to fund a 1 billion euro buyback programme.
Separately on Thursday, Ferrari said it had spent about 300 million euros to buy nearly 667,000 of its own shares in the transaction as part of its own buyback programme.
Exor has not disclosed the price at which banks JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs conducted the accelerated bookbuilding procedure, but Reuters calculations on the available data indicate a price of about 450 euro per share.
Ferrari shares were down 7% in early trading after closing on Wednesday at 483 euros, near their record high.
Dutch-listed Exor shares were up 2.7%.
Ferrari accounts for about 50% of Exor’s net asset value (NAV).
After the share sale, which will be settled on March 3, Exor will remain Ferrari’s top investor with a 20% stake and 30% of voting rights.
“Our commitment to remain (Ferrari’s) largest shareholder for the long term is stronger than ever,” Exor CEO John Elkann said in a statement.
Agnelli family member Elkann is also Ferrari chairman.
The deal will not alter a shareholder agreement between Exor and Piero Ferrari, the son of founder Enzo and Ferrari’s second largest investor. Exor and Piero Ferrari will retain combined voting rights close to 50%.
The majority of the proceeds from the stake placement will be used for a single acquisition to broaden Exor’s portfolio, a source close to the company said.
Exor is the single largest shareholder in automaker Stellantis and Dutch group Philips. It controls manufacturers Iveco and CNH, as well as Serie A soccer club Juventus.
It also has investments in healthcare, luxury goods, technology and media.
($1 = 0.9549 euros)
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru; Editing by Valentina Za and David Goodman)
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