The Stock Exchange does not like vagueness, this is still true with Sodexo today, whose shares lost up to almost 6% this Wednesday morning, signing one of the largest declines on Euronext Paris. In the decision of the collective catering group, which notably manages canteens for companies and schools, to give up selling part of its “Benefits & Rewards Services” division, in which are housed the Restaurant Pass, but also gift vouchers and the fuel card, investors see it as a wolf, especially since the press release announcing it is very brief and maintains the vagueness.
You can read there that “the option of bringing in an investor in the capital of the activity was not retained, the board of directors considering that it was not sufficiently creative of value “ and that Sodexo, without giving any details, had “defined a new roadmap to accelerate the development of the Benefits & Rewards Services activity”. The company was in discussions with several private equity funds, including CVC, Bain Capital and Silver Lake, the latter two however withdrew, judging the price too high, 4 billion euros according to The echoesin line with the valuation multiples of competitor Edenred.
One of two things, for financial analyst Matthias Desmarais of the private bank Oddo BHF, namely “This is linked to price considerations, or to divergent strategic views. » All this does not send “definitely a positive signal”the announcement “is somewhat disappointing, especially because we lack details on the new development plan (and no timetable on the disclosure of the project has been indicated). Additionally, investors may question Sodexo’s ability to change/evolve after abandoning the search for a new outside CEO a few months ago. »
Telework
For investment bank Stifel analysts Simon Lechipre and Tatiana Velandia, the main reason Sodexo backed out was the asking price, which would have been fairer based on a total valuation of 3 to 3.5. billion: “The offers received were below the company’s expectations. This is not a complete surprise, given recent press comments on only one final offer”that of CVC, for a stake of around 30%, according to The echoes. The daily, citing a source familiar with the negotiations, reports, however, that Sodexo and CVC “We ended up finding common ground on this aspect, even if the comparison with the leader Edenred and its 50 million users is not complete. » In fact, governance promised to be complex.
Stifel understands that the news is perceived negatively by the market, “because it was one of the pillars of the rise”, but the bank’s analysts see a positive side in the longer term “given the attraction of this activity”, the most lucrative of Sodexo, with an operating margin of just under 27%. In addition, this “Benefits & Rewards Services” division, in which the Ticket Restaurant competitor is housed, offers exposure to the new way of working that is telework.