Exclusive: Italy’s De Nora set to announce IPO plans next week

MILAN, June 5 (Reuters) – Italy’s Industrie De Nora, which makes components to produce green hydrogen, is set to announce next week its plans for an initial public offering in Milan, three people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

According the sources, De Nora aims to complete the share offering in June, in what would be the first major IPO in Milan since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Controlled by the De Nora family with a 64% stake, with the remaining shares owned by Italy’s Snam (SRG.MI), the group reported revenues of 616 million euros ($660.23 million) with a core profit of 127 million euros in 2021.

Two of the people said the company would float a minority stake, with De Nora family and Snam remaining shareholders.

De Nora is confident it can still go for the valuation target from the beginning of the year, despite market volatility, one of the sources said.

In February a person familiar with the matter told Reuters the deal could value the group at up to 5 billion euros, including debt.

The war, which has darkened economic growth outlook, and driven up inflation and interest rates, has prompted many companies to suspend their listing plans.

According to EY the global IPO market generated proceeds of $54.4 billion in the first quarter, a 51% drop from the previous year, despite January being the strongest opening month in two decades.

But one of the sources said that investors had shown interest in the Italian group in recent weeks due to the fact that its business is related to green hydrogen, which is obtained by separating it from water through a process of electrolysis powered by renewable energy.

Hydrogen production is seen as playing a big role in attempts to cut greenhouse emissions, and demand is expected to grow strongly in the coming years.

As Europe scrambles to cut its dependence on Russian oil and gas without deviating from its path to cut carbon emissions, alternative and environment-friendly energy sources are attracting increasing interest by investors.

The sources cautioned that company’s plan could still change due to the volatility of the financial markets.

($1 = 0.9330 euros)

Reporting by Francesca Landini, Elvira Pollina, additional reporting by Valentina Za
Editing by Tomasz Janowski

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