Campari Group’s majority shareholder Lagfin plans to increase its stake in the Italian drinks major, as it believes the group’s shares are currently undervalued.
The investment firm has signalled its intent to purchase €100m ($111.6m) of the ordinary shares in the Campari Group in the next few days, if market conditions allow.
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In a statement, Lagfin said the current value of Campari shares does not “accurately reflect the true value” of the group’s stock.
The Luxembourg-based Lagfin is the majority shareholder in Campari at 51.4% and has an 82.5% hold of the voting rights in Campari, as of 31 August 2024.
Just Drinks has asked Campari to confirm how much Lagfin’s stake would increase by if the purchase goes through.
“This intention confirms once again Lagfin’s strong long-term commitment in Campari Group and its full support to Campari’s long-term growth strategies,” Lagfin said.
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By GlobalDataCampari’s share price was up 7.74% to €7.52 as of 11:11 BST today (19 September). The Italian distiller’s total market cap sat at €9.27bn as of 12:15 BST.
The investment announcement immediately followed the news yesterday (18 September) that Campari’s CEO Matteo Fantacchiotti had stepped down from the position after just five months in the role. Campari said Fantacchiotti had left the business “due to personal reasons”.
Campari’s share price was down 7.84% to €6.98 at 16:36 BST yesterday.
Fantacchiotti was only appointed to the role in April, being promoted from his position as managing director of the group’s Asia-Pacific division.
Chief financial and operating officer Paolo Marchesini and Fabio Di Fede, general counsel and business development officer, have been picked as interim co-CEOs.
It has been a busy couple of days for Campari. Earlier in the week, the Aperol producer confirmed its purchase of a minority stake in Capevin Holdings Proprietary, the holding company of Bunnahabhain distiller CVH Spirits.
In the six months to 30 June, the Campari Group booked net sales of €1.52bn ($1.69bn), up 3.8% organically and 4.5% on a consolidated basis.
Gross profit was up 2.9% to €897.5m and 4.5% on an organic basis, while the group reported an adjusted EBITDA for the period of €418.8m, up 3.5% organically.
While many other spirits groups have seen sales decline in the US, Campari saw these grow 3.5% to €423.8m, driven by the group’s Espolòn, Aperol and Grand Marnier brands.
