Andrea Pignataro’s Ion raises offer for Italy’s Cerved
Acquisitive fintech group increases bid for credit data and information provider by 7%
Ion, one of Europe’s most acquisitive fintech groups, has stepped up its pursuit of Cerved with a raised offer that values the Italian credit data and information provider at €2.54bn.
Dublin-registered Ion, which is run from London by Italian entrepreneur Andrea Pignataro, was rebuffed by Cerved in March with an initial bid of €9.50 a share, which valued Cerved at €2.4bn including debt.
On Friday Ion’s acquisition vehicle, Castor Bidco, increased its offer to €10.20 a share, a figure it said represented a premium of more than 50 per cent to Cerved’s share price over the previous 12 months.
Ion has been stalking Cerved since the Milan-based group said it was negotiating with private equity funds over the sale of its credit management division.
Cerved is Italy’s third-largest collector of non-performing loans, an area expected to grow on the back of rising piles of bad debt resulting from the pandemic. The deal would complement Ion’s purchase of Italian banking software provider Cedacri, which Ion won in an auction this year.
Privately held Ion has become known as one of Europe’s most acquisitive companies as it turned itself into a leading global provider of trading software and a key player in financial data.
Ion and Pignataro have kept a low profile for most of the company’s 20-year history but it has snapped up more than 20 businesses since 2005, including well known brands in financial markets such as data providers Fidessa and Dealogic, news service Mergermarket and bond trading venue Broadway Technologies.
Deals this year also include Dash Financial Technologies, a US options trading technology company.
Cerved has appointed UBS in London — a frequent adviser to Ion — as well as Mediobanca and Banca di Credito Finanziario as financial advisers on the approach.
Former Salomon Brothers bond trader Pignataro has sought to build a financial data empire to compete with the likes of Bloomberg, FIS and Intercontinental Exchange, attempting to exploit the fact that financial markets have become more international and electronic.
Pignataro’s debt-fuelled acquisitions have typically been followed up by aggressive private-equity style cost-cutting.
Castor Bidco said it had extended its tender offer period to September 9 and raised the minimum threshold condition from 50 per cent plus one share to 80 per cent.
Cerved’s share price rose 1 per cent on Friday morning to €10.05, having traded at €7 just before Ion’s first offer in March. Cerved did not respond to a request for comment.
Ion said in March that Italian antitrust authorities would not launch an in-depth investigation as a combination would not reduce competition in the local market.