The National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) has suspended the listing of Applus this Friday morning "while relevant information about the entity is disseminated". The leading group of ITV and industrial tests has received in recent weeks samples of interest from foreign funds that want to take over the company. The suspension, precautionary and immediate, opens the door to the announcement of a takeover bid or a major operation.
The company's shares closed this Thursday at a price of 9.32 euros, with an advance of 0.3% over the price on Wednesday. So far this year they have appreciated more than 40%. Its stock market value is close to 1,300 million euros.
Initially, Applus received signs of interest from firms such as the British giant Apax and the American Apollo, who were studying offers in parallel. In mid-June, the American fund Squared Capital, with the backing of investment funds managed by TDR, confirmed that it was studying the possibility of making a takeover bid to acquire 100% of the capital.
The company invoices more than 2,000 million euros a year and has very fragmented capital. Among the large shareholders are Morgan Stanley, Southeastern Asset Management or DWS, which declare stakes close to 5%, according to the CNMV records. Santander, with 3.1%, is the leading Spanish shareholder.
