Morgan Stanley | Acerinox confirmed on Friday that Austrian authorities have issued an antitrust clearance for the Haynes acquisition, reinforcing the possibility that the deal will close in 4Q24. While the deal will generate revenues immediately, given the planned $200m investment in Haynes (plus acquisition costs), it will not have a significant impact on FCF until 2028. While this should likely delay the prospect of excess shareholder returns, Ioannis Masvoulas (analyst) believes this is largely discounted already by the market and, he further notes, should still allow for a dividend yield (base) of ~7% in 2025-2026. In this regard, he reiterates his OW recommendation on Acerinox due to its attractive exposure to alloys and cheaper valuation in terms of normalised earnings (3.3x vs. 6.8x historical average), all of which weighs on the near-term weakening in the US market.
Acerinox receives final Austrian antitrust approval for Haynes acquisition, completing all necessary clearances
