Italian investment bank EQUITA SpA has awarded a prize, now in its fifth edition, to the Italian companies for the best fund raising strategy in the capital markets; the initiative was sponsored by Università Bocconi and supported by Borsa Italiana. The awards ceremony took place in Milan last February 14th, during the Convegno EQUITA event at the Bocconi University for the presentation of the paper “Why do Italian companies go public? An empirical analysis of the period 2006-2016”.
Kedrion Biopharma was runner up in the category “Raising capital in the bond market”, comprising of over 140 companies. All categories – which also included “Raising capital in the equity market” and “Raising capital in the equity market for small enterprises” – were awarded for “the innovative nature and effectiveness of the transaction carried out in the capital markets as a boost for the development of the company”. The transactions/companies shortlisted for the Premio Equita were selected by a jury chaired and coordinated by Francesco Perilli, Chairman of EQUITA, taking into consideration the transactions carried out by Italian companies between December 4th, 2016 and December 31st, 2017.
Kedrion was selected for issuing, during last July, a Euro 350 million bond due July 2022 paying an annual coupon of 3%, listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, and for the subsequent repurchase by tender offer of most of the senior unsecured and unrated Euro 300 million notes launched in 2014, due April 2019 and paying a coupon of 4.625%.
Paolo Marcucci, Kedrion’s Chairman and CEO, commented: “Thanks also to the team of banks we worked with, we were able to seize the opportunity to reduce the cost of our debt. This 350 million Euros will fund our 5-year growth plan, with a view to strengthening the Kedrion brand worldwide”.
