Wednesday 25 July 2012 14:13
MILAN, July 25 (Reuters) - The Rovati family has decided to halt negotiations for a partnership with private equity players Avista and Clessidra over governance differences.
This is what we read in a statement from Rottapharm, which reports the words of Luca Rovati, managing director of the pharmaceutical group. "We have decided to interrupt the negotiations, in the light of irreconcilable differences on governance issues".
This is an unexpected evolution, given that the deal already seemed practically closed and some databases specialized in private equity considered it as done. On July 9, a source close to the dossier had said that the agreement for the entry of Avista-Clessidra into the capital of the pharmaceutical company was done and that the closing would take place within the month of July.
Rovati claims, in the note, that the group has decided to maintain "a conservative approach" and not increase the current level of leverage, now equal to 1.3 times Ebitda, placing the emphasis on the prospects of a company that boasts an Ebitda margin higher than 30% and a net profit margin of 18%. "We think the financial markets and various institutional and retail investors around the world will be interested in a potential IPO, which remains our focus," says the CEO.
The sale of 50% of the capital to Clessidra-Avista, in the plans of the Rovati family, would have represented the springboard for a subsequent landing on Piazza Affari. Rovati explains that the first half was closed with revenues growing by 3%, while net profit rose by 77%.
