(BFM Bourse) – Stef confirms the rumors of talks with the CMA CGM with a view to acquiring its maritime subsidiary La Méridionale. For TP ICAP Midcap, this transfer would be excellent news for the stock market history of the logistician and temperature-controlled transport.
Stef regains some ground this Thursday after closing sharply up 14% on Wednesday evening. The title of the temperature-controlled transport and logistics specialist, known for its low liquidity, experienced a marked resurgence of interest in the afternoon, driven by exclusive information from the newspaper The sailor. This reveals that CMA CGM would have acquired the subsidiary La Méridionale, which provides regular connections between Marseille, Corsica and Morocco.
In a press release published Wednesday evening after the market, Stef confirmed “to have started discussions with the CMA CGM Group concerning the possible resumption of its maritime activities, organized around the company La Méridionale”.
The group also specifies that the ongoing discussions “are currently at a preliminary stage”. They must still “be the subject, as the procedure requires, of priority information consultation of the social and economic council (CSE) of La Méridionale which will meet next week” further advances Stef.
For the shipowner CMA CGM, bringing La Méridionale back into its fold will allow it to concretize its return to passenger transport, an activity which it left ten years ago, recalls The sailor. “This takeover would be a catalyst for us for the file that we hoped for, but the probability of which seemed very low to us,” rejoices Florent Thy-tine, head of equity research at TP ICAP Midcap.
For Stef, this transfer could indeed be very beneficial to him. The logistician’s maritime activity has been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic which has affected all maritime transport. A few days ago, the management of La Méridionnale took the decision to stop the Barcelona-Tangier link to refocus solely on the Marseille-Tangier service, which itself constitutes a source of losses for the company.
“Excellent news” for stock market history
The analyst recalls that Stef’s maritime activity should show losses of around 30 million euros in 2022, according to estimates by the design office. For 2023, TP ICAP Midcap expects a loss of 15 million euros.
However, this transfer will not be as simple as envisaged. “The realization of this operation seems complex to us. The challenge of the DSP [délégation de service public] should complicate the negotiations and the social issue will also be a problem to manage”, wishes to warn Florent Thy-tine.
From a financial point of view, this file also presents some difficulties. According to the analyst, it will be “difficult” to define a valuation for the sale of La Méridionale and recalls that the group had acquired a boat for more than 30 million euros”. “The amount will be very good less for the acquisition of La Méridionale given the losses posted”, adds Florent Thy-tine.
“Beyond the potential cash recovered by the group, the sale would be excellent news for theequity story [l’histoire boursière, NDLR]making Stef a pure player (company operating on a single activity) in logistics and temperature-controlled transport, dismissing a discount which was systematically applied to the title due to the lack of visibility on La Méridionale”, recalls the specialist.
Pending the outcome of the negotiations, the outcome of which is expected “in the coming weeks”, TP ICAP Micap reiterates its recommendation to buy with a target price of 123 euros.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2023 BFM Bourse
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