MOROCCO – Majorel Group, a subsidiary of Morocco’s Saham Group, and its German partner Bertelsmann, is considering an initial public offering (IPO) on the Amsterdam Euronext for the second half of 2021.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reports Germany’s Bertelsmann has set a billion-euro IPO of its call centre business Majorel on the Euronext in Amsterdam.
Euronext is a pan-European exchange group, operating stock exchanges in Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Milan, Oslo and Paris.
The shares held by Bertelsmann and the Saham Group will be offered to institutional investors in private placements.
Mandating the listing is a consortium composed of the American banks JP Morgan, Citigroup, and the French BNP Paribas.
The press release, issued in conjunction with the official announcement of the IPO, gives few details on the operation and its underlying motivations. Although experts say an appropriate level of free float will ensure attractive trading liquidity.
The company has not yet set an exact date for the listing, but it could be as early as September or October, the Handelsblatt said, adding Majorel could be valued at up to 3 billion euros (US$3.54 billion).
In Morocco, some interpret the announcement as a break with Bertelsmann or a desire of Moulay Hafid Elalamy, founder and owner of Saham Group, to disengage from Majorel. According to reports, Elalamy could pocket between 1 and 1.5 billion euros with the sale of his Majorel shares through the stock market.
This assessment is very unlikely, considering Bertelsmann and Saham are 50/50 shareholders. If Saham is diluted, Bertelsmann will be diluted pro rata.
Majorel was formed in 2019 when Bertelsmann folded its Arvato CRM customer services subsidiary into a 50-50 joint venture with Moroccan partner Saham’s own operation.
Bertelsmann had originally planned to sell the unit in 2018, before opting for a global alliance with Saham instead.
Luxembourg-based Majorel employs over 60,000 staff across 31 countries.
