Fusioni & Acquisizioni

📊 In the first half of 2024, Newlat Food, led by Angelo Mastrolia, reported revenues of €370.1 million, down 10.4% from €413.3 million in the same period of 2023. The decrease is attributed to deflationary effects. However, EBITDA increased to €39.3 million from €38.5 million, boosting the margin from 9.3% to 10.6%. Net profit stood at €10 million, an 11% rise excluding the €1.7 million business combination gain in 2023. Significant growth occurred in the Dairy Products segment, while other segments experienced revenue contraction. The company completed the acquisition of Princes Limited on July 30, 2024, marking a phase of expansion.

✈ Air Senegal will suspend seven international routes starting next week, including the flight from Dakar to Milan. The six-year-old carrier is facing a severe financial crisis. Routes to be suspended are New York, Milan, Barcelona, Libreville, Douala, Marseille, and Lyon. The suspension takes effect on September 20, with refund details provided by Aviareps, the airline's representative in Italy.

✈️ EasyJet, the second-largest airline in Italy, carried over 20 million passengers last year on 226 routes from 21 Italian airports. The winter 2024 season will see a 7.5% increase in offerings, with an eighth aircraft in Naples and 13 new routes from Milan Malpensa and Naples, including destinations like Tromsø, Cairo, Oslo, Rabat, Alicante, and Prague. EasyJet plans to reorganize operations in Italy, reallocating aircraft from Venice to ensure long-term success, but will maintain connections to major European destinations from Venice. Lorenzo Lagorio, country manager of easyJet Italy, highlighted investment growth in Lombardy, Campania, and other Italian destinations. If selected as a remedy taker in the Ita Airways and Lufthansa agreement, easyJet aims to open bases at Milan Linate and Rome Fiumicino by summer 2025.

🏖️ In 2024, global travel industry spending will reach 1 dollar out of every 10 spent. The sector is expected to contribute $11.1 trillion to global GDP (10% of total) with a 12.1% annual growth rate, exceeding 2019's record by 7.5%. The US, China, and Germany will lead travel expenses. Employment in the industry will hit 348 million in 2024, 13.6 million more than pre-pandemic. The US contributed a record $2.36 trillion to its economy last year, while China added $1.3 trillion, and Germany $487.6 billion. The top ten travel economies also include Japan ($297 billion), the UK ($295.2 billion), France ($264.7 billion), Mexico ($261.6 billion), India ($231.6 billion), Italy ($231.3 billion), and Spain ($227.9 billion). China is predicted to become the largest travel market by 2035. International visitor spending is set to grow by 16% this year, reaching $1.9 trillion, while domestic tourism spending is expected to hit $5.4 trillion, a 10.3% increase from 2019.

🚂 Trenord to resume operations of nine train lines on Monday, September 9, after summer interruptions for infrastructure upgrades, impacting Milano Centrale-Domodossola, Milano P. Garibaldi-Arona-Domodossola, Milano-Tirano, Lecco-Sondrio, Sondrio-Tirano, S7 Milano-Lecco, Como-Lecco, Pavia-Vercelli, and Pavia-Alessandria. Substitute bus services will cease, and a transitional period with increased travel times is expected as full speed is gradually reinstated post-upgrades.

📔 Comune di Alessandria invests 9.26 million euros for school canteens (2024-2027), up 859k euros. Over 2500 students to receive balanced menus with organic and local products. CIRFOOD, the contract winner, invested over 1 million euros to modernize the Einaudi cooking center. New menus will be seasonal with a 4-week rotation. Special diets are catered for with separate facilities. Einaudi center provides about 3000 meals daily and has an open day on September 21. "Menu Chiaro" app available for families to monitor meals.

🏡 Preferred Hotels & Resorts, with over 600 properties worldwide, recently added four Italian hotels to their portfolio. Boutique Hotel Stresa, part of the L.V.X. Collection, has a 250-year history and offers 30 accommodations, including 26 suites and 4 spa suites. Hotel Excelsior & Lido in Pesaro, featuring 52 rooms, a SPA, and a private Lido, joins the Lifestyle Collection. Preidlhof Luxury Dolce Vita Resort, near Merano, is an adults-only 5-star hotel with an expansive spa offering. Castello Dal Pozzo, on Lake Maggiore's Piedmont shore, provides 46 unique rooms, gourmet dining, and is set in 24 hectares of parkland. Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, highlighted the significance of these new luxury independent hotel additions.

📖 The Comune di Massa has launched a €27 million project financing for school canteen services over 12 years, recently declared of public utility. The bid, facilitated by Simona Benetti, gives priority to proposer "A. Gazzoli e Soci Srl". PronextSrl estimates a €4.6 million economic benefit for the Comune, with the project serving about 2,000 daily meals across 28 schools and 23 kitchens, totaling 320,000 meals annually. Additional 60 meals are provided daily to other entities. The concession cost for the Comune ranges from €1 to €1.4 million per year, totaling €15.56 million over 12 years. The tender will continue via the Start portal of the Regione Toscana until a new concessionaire is selected, with current service extended to Gazzoli until December at an estimated cost of €1 million.

💰 Grundfos, a global leader in water pump solutions, completed the acquisition of Culligan's Commercial & Industrial (C&I) division in Italy, France, and the UK to enhance its water treatment solutions. Culligan’s C&I division recorded over €100 million in revenue in 2023 with around 400 employees. The acquisition excludes Culligan's residential, office, and on-the-go sectors in these countries, as well as operations in the Middle East, Spain, and North America. This follows Grundfos' recent acquisitions in the water treatment sector, including Eurowater (2020), MECO (2021), and Water Works (2022).

🏦 Ireland's hotel market soared with €655 million in sales during the first half of 2024, nearly quadrupling from €173 million in the first half of 2023. The sale of Dublin’s 265-room Shelbourne Hotel by Kennedy Wilson to Archer Capital was a significant transaction, estimated at almost €260 million. Hard Rock Dublin, after four years, was bought by Leonardo Hotels, rebranded under NYX, leaving no more Hard Rock hotels in the UK or Ireland. Dublin hotel occupancy hit 80% in the first half of the year, with 510 new rooms added and 1,700 under construction. CitizenM and Hoxton are set to open new hotels in Dublin by 2025 and the end of 2024, respectively.