Italy's Moltiply exploring options for outsourcing arm, including sale, sources say
Italy's Moltiply exploring options for outsourcing arm, including sale, sources say By Elvira Pollina and Amy-Jo Crowley
MILAN/LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Italy's Moltiply MOL.MI is considering options for its financial services outsourcing division, including a potential partial or full sale, two sources close to the matter said.
Moltiply has two main business lines: Mavriq, focused on online price comparison services, and BPO&Tech, providing business process outsourcing services for clients including banks and insurers.
The Milan-listed company is in the early stages of assessing options for the BPO&Tech unit and is talking to banks, the sources said, cautioning that no decision has yet been taken.
The BPO&Tech division generated nearly 40% of Moltiply's €674 million euros ($787 million) in revenue last year.
The unit's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 8.6% to €61 million.
Moltiply could seek a valuation of 11 to 12 times the unit's EBITDA, putting the price tag at €600 million to €700 million, one of the people said.
Moltiply declined to comment.
Moltiply Chairman Marco Pescarmona told analysts in March there were potential grounds to split up the group, citing a lack of additional earnings benefits.
Pescarmona also pointed to a digital services tax in Italy, Spain and France on companies with consolidated revenues above €750 million a year, a threshold Moltiply could approach soon.
($1 = 0.8565 euros)
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina in Milan and Amy-Jo Crowley in London; Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Joe Bavier)