Europe's biggest IPO this year just started trading -Italy's Nexi is a rare $6.4 billion bright spot amid regional slump

Stefano Rellandini/Reuters

• Shares in Nexi, Italy's biggest payment-services group, began trading on Tuesday.
• Nexi raised just over €2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) and secured a market valuation of about €5.7 billion when it listed last week, marking Europe's biggest IPO so far this year.
• The Milan-based group's public debut follows two other major listings in its sector in the past year, Network International and Adyen NV.

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Shares in Nexi began trading on Tuesday, after Italy's biggest payment-services group last week raised just over €2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) and secured a market valuation of about €5.7 billion when it listed last week, marking Europe's biggest IPO so far this year.

While it's down 6% in Milan trading, it's a rare positive sign for European listings. Brexit worries and a market rough patch in 2018 saw many IPO plans shelved or scrapped altogether.

The Milan-based group- which issues credit cards, manages cash machines, and provides digital solutions - priced its shares at €9, giving it a value of €7.3 billion including debt, according to Bloomberg. It raised capital of €700 million, which it has earmarked to pay down its debt of €1.7 billion.

Nexi has partnerships with around 150 Italian banks and commands a market share of 60% in card issuing, according to Bloomberg.

Its public introduction follows the billion-dollar debuts of two other European payment processors in the past year - Network International in London earlier this month, and Adyen NV in Amsterdam last June.

Unlike some big-name US IPOs lately, Nexi makes a profit. reported operating revenue of €931 million in 2018, generating net income of €20 million.