Exor sells 4% of Ferrari for 3 billion euros as it plans new acquisition
MILAN, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Exor (EXOR.AS), opens new tab, the holding company of Italy's Agnelli family, raised about 3 billion euros ($3.14 billion) after selling a roughly 4% stake in Ferrari (RACE.MI), opens new tab, it said on Thursday.
In announcing the disposal late on Wednesday, Exor had said the sale would reduce concentration in its investment portfolio and provide ammunition for "a sizeable new acquisition when such an opportunity presents itself".
The company will also use proceeds from the deal to fund a 1 billion euro buyback programme.
Separately on Thursday, Ferrari said it had spent about 300 million euros to buy nearly 667,000 of its own shares in the transaction as part of its own buyback programme.
Exor has not disclosed the price at which banks JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs conducted the accelerated bookbuilding procedure, but Reuters calculations on the available data indicate a price of about 450 euro per share.
Ferrari shares were down 7% in early trading after closing on Wednesday at 483 euros, near their record high.
Dutch-listed Exor shares were up 2.7%.
Ferrari accounts for about 50% of Exor's net asset value (NAV).
After the share sale, which will be settled on March 3, Exor will remain Ferrari's top investor with a 20% stake and 30% of voting rights.
"Our commitment to remain (Ferrari's) largest shareholder for the long term is stronger than ever," Exor CEO John Elkann said in a statement.
Agnelli family member Elkann is also Ferrari chairman.
The deal will not alter a shareholder agreement between Exor and Piero Ferrari, the son of founder Enzo and Ferrari's second largest investor. Exor and Piero Ferrari will retain combined voting rights close to 50%.
The majority of the proceeds from the stake placement will be used for a single acquisition to broaden Exor's portfolio, a source close to the company said.
Exor is the single largest shareholder in automaker Stellantis and Dutch group Philips (PHG.AS), opens new tab. It controls manufacturers Iveco (IVG.MI), opens new tab and CNH (CNH.N), opens new tab, as well as Serie A soccer club Juventus (JUVE.MI), opens new tab.
It also has investments in healthcare, luxury goods, technology and media.
($1 = 0.9549 euros)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK edtech Pearson to raise India headcount by 43% in three years
CHENNAI, June 13 (Reuters) - UK-based Pearson (PSON.L), opens new tab plans to boost its workforce in India by about 43% to 2,000, an executive told Reuters on Friday, months after the education firm named India one of its top three priority markets globally. "We will invest significantly in India. We have got three very strong locations and we want to grow in all of these different locations," said Vishaal Gupta, president of enterprise learning and skills division and chair of India at Pearson. Pearson India operates in education and assessment markets, targeting school goers, students aspiring for colleges overseas and corporate professionals. The company will hire across various functions, including local business operations and global tech, over the next three years, Gupta said, while ruling out the launch of any new office location. It currently has offices in Noida, Bengaluru and Chennai. Pearson's shares hit a 10-year high in February after the company reported a rise in profit and said deploying AI would help deliver more growth in 2025. India's ed-tech market, which was valued at $7.5 billion in 2024, is projected to grow more than three-fold to $29 billion by 2030, according to a Grant Thornton report. In India, Pearson competes with IDP Education ( opens new tab and Educational Testing Service in overseas education segment, and with Upgrad and Coursera in the digital-learning market. Gupta said the company will focus on government, Indian conglomerates and global capability centers, where a shortage of skilled workers poses a challenge amid growing demand for AI upskilling. Global capability centers, commonly known as GCCs, are local offices set up by large global companies in India to support their global parent in daily operations, finance, R&D and product development functions. GCCs are projected to contribute 2% to India's GDP by 2030, according to ICICI Securities, up from less than 1% currently.
Daily Mirror
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Lewis Hamilton silenced by Ferrari after 'massive' problem found
Lewis Hamilton has endured a tricky season with Ferrari and has been outspoken about his frustrations, but the Italian team have now moved to stop his outbursts Lewis Hamilton has revealed that Ferrari chiefs have stepped in to stop him speaking out on the issues with the team's car. Hamilton has endured a tricky start to his time with the Scuderia. The seven-time world champion is yet to record a podium in a feature race, though he did win the Sprint in China. He could only manage a sixth-place finish in the Spanish Grand Prix a fortnight ago. The 40-year-old pointed to a major problem with his car as the reason the disappointing result in Barcelona. Speaking to race engineer Riccardo Adami after the chequered flag, Hamilton said: 'There's something wrong with this car. It's the worst it's ever been.' Team-mate Charles Leclerc has enjoyed a better season, recording two successive podium finishes. On the whole though, Ferrari are far from where they want to be in what is the final year of the current regulations. Hamilton has been vocal about the issues aflicting the Scuderia this season. But heading into this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, the British star has revealed that Ferrari have moved to stop his outbursts of frustration. 'Unfortunately they don't want us really to talk too much about it, but we both had issues that were hindering us massively from halfway through the race already,' Hamilton said. 'What I didn't know is whether or not we had that problem. 'Obviously I said on the radio that it was the worst-feeling car that I'd ever had, and it truly was with that issue. At the end of the race, I was kind of like, jeez, I've never experienced something this bad for such a prolonged time through a race. "It wasn't until after the TV interviews that we got back to the engineers and we found out there was an issue. So it was a bit of a relief to hear that because it definitely didn't feel so terrible afterwards. "The car very much has a real sweet spot and we're trying to get it working at all those tracks which everyone's having a struggle with. I'm hoping this weekend can be strong.' Ferrari's issues have led to speculation around team principal Fred Vasseur's future. But Hamilton has insisted he remains fully behind Vasseur and does not believe a change at the top is needed. 'Firstly I love working with Fred – Fred's the main reason I'm in this team and got the opportunity to be here, for which I'm forever grateful for, and we're in this together," he said. 'We're working hard in the background, things aren't perfect but, for me, I'm here to work with the team but also with Fred – I want Fred here. I do believe Fred is the person to take us to the top, so that's that. So it's all nonsense. 'It isn't all easy, it's not like it's all the smoothest sailing in the background – we are having to make changes and there is a lot of work to do, and there is naturally a lot of pressure because we want to win. 'I've literally just started here with Ferrari and I'm here for several years, and I'm here for the long-haul, so there is no question in where my head's at and what I'm working towards achieving with this team, so there's zero doubts.'
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Take Five: Middle East takes centre stage
June 13 (Reuters) - Middle East tensions are escalating sharply and propelling oil prices higher as a raft of major central banks, led by the U.S. Federal Reserve, make interest rate decisions and G7 leaders meet in Canada. Here's a look at what's coming up for world markets in the week ahead from Rae Wee in Singapore, Lewis Krauskopf in New York, and Lucy Raitano, Dhara Ranasinghe and Marc Jones in London. Israel's strikes on Iran mean another of the major geopolitical tail risks investors have long been worried about has just become a reality. Markets will be closely following how Tehran - which has seen many of its proxies in the region weakened - retaliates and what the world's top powers do in the coming days. The initial reaction has been a spike in oil prices, a drop in stocks and a safe-haven rally spanning gold to government bonds. How the sixth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks scheduled to be held on Sunday in Oman will evolve is also unclear. That all has implications for the world economy, and there's likely to be more volatility unless the situation calms down rapidly. The question of whether the Fed is more worried about inflation or labour markets tops the agenda for investors looking for greater clarity on the interest rate outlook amid the renewed tension in the Middle East and its implications for oil prices. The U.S. central bank is expected to hold rates steady on Wednesday but will offer projections on monetary policy and the economy for the first time since March, when overall estimates of inflation and unemployment were lifted. Markets anticipate roughly two 25 basis-point cuts by the end of the year - the first likely in September - a view bolstered by Wednesday's benign inflation report. Meanwhile, the Fed and chair Jerome Powell remain under pressure to lower rates from President Donald Trump, who says a decision on the next Fed chair will be made soon. Tuesday's May retail sales numbers, meanwhile, could show how tariffs may be affecting consumer spending. The Bank of Japan kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Monday, at a crucial time for investors seeking guidance on the BOJ's rate trajectory and bond tapering plans. Policymakers are expected to stand pat on rates, but the devil will be in the detail of its statement and Governor Kazuo Ueda's news conference. The BOJ has vowed to keep raising rates if underlying inflation approaches its 2% target, but the path ahead has become less certain. A trade deal with Washington remains elusive, and an unwelcome spike in long-end Japanese government bond yields in May complicates matters. The latest bout of volatility in the JGB market has triggered a slew of responses from policymakers seeking to soothe market concerns about worsening government finances. The flurry of interest rate decisions continues in Europe, with central bank meetings scheduled in Sweden, Switzerland, Norway and the UK. Sweden's Riksbank will kick things off on Tuesday, with markets betting on a 25 bps rate cut. Thursday is busy with Norges Bank expected to hold rates, while the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is seen slashing rates by 25 bps, with an outside chance of a 50 bps cut. Swiss inflation turned negative in May, fuelling discussion around whether Switzerland could be the first big economy to return to negative rates. Meanwhile, weak UK jobs data raised the prospect of more Bank of England (BoE) cuts through the rest of 2025, but markets still expect no rate change on Thursday. A UK spending review on Wednesday brought into focus worries over the fiscal outlook, while data on Thursday showed economic output fell sharply in April. Geopolitics, trade and much more will be on the table at the Group of Seven's June 15-17 summit in Alberta, Canada. A U.S./China agreement on a framework to put their trade truce back on track is positive. Japan, for one, hopes for a trade agreement on the sidelines. Also watch Europe. Some suspect the EU could accept a 10% U.S. tariff with no retaliation for greater U.S. commitments to NATO and Ukraine. The EU wants to discuss lowering a G7 price cap on Russian oil, in efforts to cut Russia's energy supplies. Most G7 members appear ready to do that without the U.S. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy hopes for another chat with Trump at the G7, press reports suggest. And G7 host Canada, keen to diversify trade away from America, has invited India's Narendra Modi to attend, after bilateral relations soured in recent years.
