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NEOM grabs 6% of Italy’s Technogym: The NEOM Investment Fund (NIF) has acquired 6% of regionally ubiquitous Technogym with a EUR 111 mn (SAR 453 mn) investment, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a company statement. NIF plans on being a long-term minority shareholder in the Italian fitness-equipment maker through the acquisition, it added.
Expect the transaction to push Technogym even further into the Middle East, an analyst from Equita tells Reuters.
All-in, NIF paid a 15% premium compared to Thursday’s closing price on the Borsa Italiana. NIF bought 8.8 mn shares of the Milan-listed company following a reverse accelerated bookbuilding operation on Thursday, then entered into a derivative acquisition to grab another 3.3 mn shares at the same price, according to the business newswire.
SOUND SMART- A reverse accelerated bookbuild operation is when a publicly-listed company buys back some of its shares in a short time period. Usually, an underwriter would set a minimum buyback price and a tight deadline for the sale.
ADVISORS- JP Morgan acted as the transaction’s sole bookrunner, while Rothschild acted as financial advisor for the NIF.
BACKGROUND- This is just the latest in a strong of global investments announced by NEOM’s new strategic investment arm, NIF, since its launch in late October. NIF has since invested in companies including Pony.ai, Regent, Boom Technology, BluNalu, Animoca Brands, and Volocopter.
PIF TAKES 49% OF ROCCO FORTE HOTELS
The Public Investment Fund has taken 49% take in Sir Rocco Forte’s eponymous luxury hotel chain, the Financial Times reports, noting it as the latest in a strong of luxury hotel investments the PIF has last year “bought minority stakes in luxury hotel groups Aman Resorts and Habitas,” the FT notes.
Forte will use the funds to open new properties in the Middle East, Italy and the United States, the salmon-coloured paper quoted the company’s chairman as saying.
The transaction values Forte at EUR 1.5 bn, according to an industry publication, which notes that Rocco Forte Hotels has 15 properties in Italy, Belgium, the UK, Germany and Russia with three more in the pipeline.
