Italy’s financial media group Gruppo Sole 24 Ore‘s stocks posted an 8.47% jump to 0.434 euro per share at the Milan Stock Exchange yesterday with a 17.4 million euros market capitalization after the news that Palamon Capital Partners entered in exclusive talks to buy a minority stake in a newco where all education and events activities will be included (see here the press release).
Palamon’s binding offer is based on an 80 million euros enterprise value for the assets and the deal is expected to close by the second half of July. In 2016 the education activities reached 20.9 million euros in revenues with a 4,7 million euros ebitda and ebit and cash flow in line with the ebitda (see Reuters here).
The deal is part of the financial initiative put forward by the company’s management in order to address a rather difficult financial situation of the media group publishing Italy’s main financial daily.
The group in currently controlled by Confindustria, the Italian employers association, with a 67.5% stake, who recently approved the injection of 30 million euros into the group in an upcoming cash call of no less than 50 million euros needed to keep to group afloat.
The publisher and several of its former managers are under investigation by Italian prosecutors for allegedly issuing false corporate statements. The group has 50 million euros in debt coming due in October.
