Siti B&T Group debuts on Italian stock exchange

At 8.30 yesterday, 31 March, the opening bell rang for the first day’s trading on the Italian stock exchange in Milan for Siti B&T Group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of complete plants for the ceramic industry.

Admission to trade on the AIM Italia / Mercato Alternativo del Capitale (Alternative Investment Market) was granted on 29 March this year following a successfully concluded placement open to accredited Italian and international investors and to the Italian general public, with overall demand exceeding supply.

The unit price of shares (3,250,000 ordinary shares, more than 1,500 convertible bonds and 1,250,000 warrants) has been set at 8 euros with an expected capitalisation of around 100 million euros. The company’s free float will be around 26%.

CEO Fabio Tarozzi argues that the listing on AIM Italia marks a vital step in the Group’s growth: "We have a clear business plan focused on new product development and market growth. Our placement is mainly for capital increase purposes with the aim of attracting medium- to long-term institutional investors. The funds raised will enable us to pursue our development projects as part of our continued expansion in Italy and abroad."

SITI - B&T Group, a business with more than 50 years of history, will see its controlling stake remain firmly in the hands of the holding company of the founding families Barbieri and Tarozzi. It closed fiscal 2015 with an estimated consolidated turnover of 171.8 million euros, an estimated EBITDA of 17 million euros and an export share of around 80%.

The group operates globally with three facilities in Italy and eight foreign branches operating in the world’s major ceramic tile markets: Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Singapore and China. A new production site is due to open in May in China. 

SITI - B&T Group supplies technology through the following divisions: Tile (complete plants for tile production), Projecta Engineering and Digital Design (digital decorating machines and digital graphic design projects), B&T White (complete plants for sanitaryware) and Ancora (finishing systems for ceramic materials).

As well as being the first Italian ceramic machinery manufacturer to debut on the stock exchange, SITI - B&T Group is the second largest company in terms of turnover to be listed on the AIM segment of the Italian stock exchange.