MILAN, June 5 (Reuters) – Italian industry De Nora, which makes components to produce green hydrogen, will announce its plans for an IPO in Milan next week, three people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
According to the sources, De Nora intends to complete the share offering in June, which would be the first major IPO in Milan since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The group, controlled by the De Nora family with a 64% stake, with the remaining shares owned by the Italian company Snam (SRG.MI), reported sales of 616 million euros ($660.23 million) in 2021 a core profit of 127 million euros.
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Two of the people said the company will take a minority stake to the market, with the De Nora family and Snam being the remaining shareholders.
De Nora is confident of hitting the valuation target set earlier in the year despite market volatility, one of the sources said.
In February, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters that the deal could value the group at up to €5 billion, including debt.
The war, which has dampened prospects for economic growth and pushed up inflation and interest rates, has prompted many companies to suspend their listing plans.
According to EY, the global IPO market generated revenue of $54.4 billion in the first quarter, down 51% year over year, despite January being the strongest opening month in two decades.
However, one of the sources said that investors have shown interest in the Italian group in recent weeks as its business is related to green hydrogen, which is obtained by separating water through an electrolysis process powered by renewable energy.
Hydrogen production plays a large role in attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and demand is expected to grow strongly in the coming years.
As Europe scrambles to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas without deviating from its carbon emissions reduction path, alternative and green energy sources are attracting increasing interest from investors.
The sources warned that the company’s plan could change due to the volatility of the financial markets.
($1 = 0.9330 euros)
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Reporting by Francesca Landini, Elvira Pollina, additional reporting by Valentina Za Editing by Tomasz Janowski
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