THIS week Amundi, one of Europe’s biggest money managers with €950 billion ($1 trillion) of assets, took a step towards becoming bigger still. On November 12th it listed on the Paris stock exchange in the biggest initial public offering of a financial firm in continental Europe since the $2.7 billion flotation in Amsterdam last year of Pershing Square, an American hedge-fund manager. Société Générale, a French bank, is selling its 20% stake to increase capital buffers; Crédit Agricole, another bank and the owner of the rest of Amundi, is selling up to 5%.
By moving Amundi out of the shadow of its two parents, the listing will make it easier for the firm to attract new partners and, in particular, pave the way for acquisitions. That is not because Amundi is retaining the proceeds of the IPO (those go to Société Générale and Crédit Agricole), but because future takeovers can now be financed by issuing more shares. Moreover, once a company is listed it is easy to value, something that could ease a big merger in future. In addition Amundi has €1.3 billion in cash that Yves Perrier, its chief executive, has promised to...Continue reading
from Economics http://ift.tt/1NNoF50
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment