As expected for a few days now (see here a previous article by BeBeez), here is the official signing of the agreement whereby around 50% of the capital of Italo-Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori spa, the Italian leading private high-speed railway company, will pass to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the shipping group headed by the Aponte family (see here the press release).
The stake will be sold by the GIP III infrastructure fund managed by Global Infrastructure Partners, the current majority shareholder with 72.55%, which, in addition to retaining its residual stake, will reinvest to reach 35% and will have joint governance with MSC. Allianz Infrastructure Luxembourg sarl will also remain as a shareholder, holding 10% today and rumoured to rise its stake to around 14%. Luca di Montezemolo, the founding partner of NTV, will also reinvest, reportedly for a 0.3%, as will Italian entrepreneurs Isabella Seragnoli and Alberto Bombassei, who initially seemed willing to leave. On the other hand, leaving the shareholding are the Norwegian fund IP Infra Investor (which now has 7.54%), Molangers (0.6%). Italian entrepreneurs Flavio Cattaneo and Gianni Punzo and Peninsula Capital. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo remains as chairman and Gianbattista La Rocca as ceo.
Final completion of the transaction is subject to the meeting of the usual conditions, including regulatory and competition approvals in the relevant jurisdictions. No official figures have been disclosed, but the market rumors confirm the valuation of Italo-NTV already circulated in recent months of an enterprise value of around EUR 4.2 billion, based on an equity value of EUR 3.2 billion and a net financial debt of EUR 934 million at the end of 2022, equivalent to a multiple of around 19x last year’s ebitda.
As a reminder, in 2018, the GIP fund’s entry into Italo-NTV’s capital was based on a valuation of just under EUR 2.4 billion, considering an equity value at the time of EUR 1.94 billion and a net financial position of EUR 443 million (see here a previous article by BeBeez).
Italo-NTV closed 2022 with great figures: over EUR 700 million in revenues and an ebitda of EUR 225 million, a clear recovery compared to 2021, when the accounts had already improved compared to 2020, which had been heavily impacted by the effects of the pandemic. With gross revenue up modestly to 487.8 million in 2021 from 413.5 million in 2020, net transport revenue in 2021 had risen to 400.9 million from 262.9 million in 2020, although still far from the 680.6 million in 2019, just as ebitda had risen to 154.4 million (from 111, 8 million) and, above all, net profit (104.4 million from 31.9 million and from 151.4 million pre-covid) had risen, against a net financial debt falling to 795.4 million (from 925.8 million in 2020 and 807 million in 2019) (see here Italo-NTV’s 2021 financial statements, available to BeBeez News Premium and BeBeez Private Data subscribers).
Meanwhile, last May the group announced the acquisition of 100 per cent of Itabus, a private long-distance road passenger transport company operating from the end of May 2021. Itabus, which connects Italy, including Sicily, with 100 buses and, after just two years of activity, has already exceeded 2 million travellers, will continue to be led by the two CEOs Francesco Fiore and Enrico Zampone, while Gianbattista La Rocca, Italo’s ceo will become chairman (see press release here).
The purpose of the acquisition, said MSC’s note, is to establish a long-term strategic partnership for the future development of Italo. Since its launch in 2012, Italo has grown to operate a fleet of 51 energy-efficient electric trains, connecting 51 cities across Italy and serving more than 20 million passengers per year.
Bayo Ogunlesi, Chairman and ceo of Global Infrastructure Partners, commented: “We are excited to partner with MSC, with whom we have a strong and productive strategic relationship, to continue to support Italo’s future growth,” he said. “We remain committed to providing a high quality service to passengers and benefits to the Italian economy. We are delighted that MSC shares our vision for Italo’s future, as high-speed rail transport is key to achieving net-zero targets and is aligned with GIP’s energy transition and decarbonisation strategies.
And Diego Aponte, Group Chairman of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, added: “This agreement demonstrates our long-standing commitment to Italy and our support for Italy’s outstanding high-speed passenger rail transport. We strongly believe in Italo’s potential to further strengthen rail connectivity throughout Italy as well as the Italian tourism market. Furthermore, today’s agreement also reflects our group’s aim to further develop sustainable modes of transport, both for passengers and freight. This aligns with Italy’s efforts to strengthen its infrastructure network through the new projects outlined in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) to extend high-speed rail services to currently inaccessible areas. We share a common vision with GIP and we are proud to once again build this strategic partnership”.
MSC is a world leader in the transport and logistics sector, founded in 1970 by Gianluigi Aponte, Diego’s father. The group today operates a fleet of 760 ships. Present in 155 countries through 675 offices, MSC stops at 520 ports on more than 260 trade routes, transporting around 23 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) each year and employing 180,000 people worldwide, including those employed in passenger transport activities. MSC’s activities now include land transport, logistics and a growing portfolio of investments in port terminals. In this regard, we recall that last September it announced the launch of a takeover bid on the terminal company HHLA, which manages the Hamburg port terminal and also operates in Italy, in Trieste, valued at €1.7 billion (see the press release here).
