MILAN Shares in Italy's Nexi failed to start trading at open on Wednesday due to excessive gains fuelled by a media report of a possible bid by CVC Capital Partners which the private equity firm declined to comment on.

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that CVC was in the early stages of considering a possible bid for Nexi, Europe's largest payments company by volume of transactions.

Nexi shares have lost 22% this year, adding to a 47% drop in 2022 and stoking speculation about potential takeover interest.

With shares in the company well below the 2019 listing price of 9 euros, buyout firms have studied take-private deals in the past, which have not materialised.

By 0730 shares in Nexi were indicated up 16.7% at 6.72 euros a share, not far from a record low of 5.25 euros a share hit earlier this month.

Shareholders include private equity firms Hellmann & Friedman, which became an investor when Nexi merged with rival Nets, as well as Advent and Bain which brought it to the market four years ago.

The presence of shareholder funds which will eventually need to liquidate their investment and the depressed share price have fuelled persistent speculation about Nexi's future.

However, the Italian government is also a shareholder in the firm, through state lender CDP which owns 13.6%. The post office Poste Italiane also owns 3.5%.

The government has powers to block any unwanted interest over a company such as Nexi, considered of strategic national interest.

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin and Giancarlo Navach; Writing by Valentina Za, editing by Cristina Carlevaro and Gavin Jones)