Story
Intercos Shares Plunge After L Catterton Sells €81 Million Stake
Shares in Italian cosmetics manufacturer Intercos (ICOS.MI) plunged on Tuesday after private equity firm L Catterton sold a significant portion of its stake in an €81 million block trade, injecting a large volume of stock into the market.
L Catterton Reduces Stake
The private equity firm, through its investment vehicle CP7, offloaded approximately 6 million shares via an accelerated bookbuild (ABB), a process that allows for the rapid sale of large blocks of shares to institutional investors. The transaction, coordinated by UBS, Jefferies, and BNP Paribas, was reported by Investing.com.
Key details of the sale include:
- Stake sold: Approximately 6.2% of Intercos' total share capital
- Total proceeds: Approximately €81 million
- L Catterton's remaining stake: Reduced from roughly 13.33% to just over 7%
AdThe sale meaningfully increases the company's free float, or the number of shares available for public trading. Founder Dario Gianandrea Ferrari, who holds an approximate 48.64% stake, did not participate in the sale and remains the dominant shareholder.
Market Reaction and Context
The large influx of shares placed immediate downward pressure on the stock, which fell 8.1% to €12.68 in trading. Such large, secondary block sales are often executed at a discount to the prevailing market price to attract buyers quickly, which typically weighs on the share price.
The sell-off occurred amid a fragile backdrop for Italian equities. Broader market sentiment was already weakened by concerns over accelerating Eurozone inflation, which reached a nearly three-year high of 3.3% in August, and rising expectations of a European Central Bank rate hike. This risk-off environment likely reduced investors' appetite to absorb the sudden increase in supply from the block deal.
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