Bigben, Nacon: "masterpiece" bond offering sparks profit-taking

Nacon SAS

15/02/2021 11:03

** Shares in French game maker Bigben Interactive  BGBN.PA 
drop 2.8% as investors take profits following the stock's
outperformance
    ** Bigben's stock closed 5% up on Friday after it announced
a successful placement of 87.3 million euros ($105.9 million) of
bonds exchangeable into Nacon  NACON.PA  shares  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2KI19W
    ** The bonds' price has been set at 9.6 euros, corresponding
to a premium of 20%
    ** Midcap Partners' analyst Charles-Louis Planade calls the
transaction "a masterpiece", adding it enables Bigben to retain
absolute control of its peer Nacon  NACON.PA 
    ** "They sold some of their shares of Nacon to the investors
but instead of doing it at a discount, they did it at a big
premium," Planade says, adding the operation would generate a
strong increase in Bigben's cash position
    ** Oddo BHF analyst Hana Maalej see the operation as
"clearly positive" for both companies, adding it would
ultimately increase Nacon's free float and improve the stock's
liquidity
    ** Bigben currently directly owns 76.67% in Nacon
    ** By Friday's close, Bigben shares were up 14.9% in
February; they are up 18.3% YTD
    ** Nacon, whose shares are up 1.9% YTD and by Friday rose
4.2% in February, falls 1.7%

($1 = 0.8243 euros)

 ((anait.miridzhanian@thomsonreuters.com))