Milan 01/8/24
Italcer, a benefit company among the Italian leaders in the field of design ceramic surfaces, successfully completed the refinancing of the Euro 201 million unitranche bonds issued in 2018 maturing in October of this year.
On the one hand, a pool of international banks, made up of Banco BPM (Agent Bank), Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, CaixaBank, Crédit Agricole Italia, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, BPER Corporate Investment Banking, BNL BNP Paribas e Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, participated in the transaction through the subscription of a senior loan for an amount of Euro 150 million and, on the other hand, Oak Hill Advisors (“OHA”), leading global credit-focused alternative asset manager, which subscribed subordinated bonds.
The previous bond financing, issued in October 2018 to finance the acquisition of Ceramica Rondine S.p.A., had been subscribed by pan-European private debt funds managed by Pemberton Asset Management, supported by some specialized Italian operators. In the following years, further increases in the same bond then supported part of the Italcer group’s external growth plan.
The Italcer group was born from an initiative of the private equity fund Mindful Capital Partners, the group’s reference shareholder, and the group’s CEO Graziano Verdi, aimed at creating a reference player in the ceramic sector through the aggregation of excellence in order to exploit significant production, logistics and commercial synergies. Since 2017, 8 acquisitions have been completed, namely La Fabbrica, Elios Ceramica, Devon & Devon, Ceramica Rondine, Equipe Ceramicas, Cedir, Ceramica Fondovalle and, in December last year, Terratinta Group SB. Since its creation, the group has grown steadily, also organically, acquiring significant market shares, also thanks to the launch of cutting-edge solutions, such as Advance, a line of antibacterial, anti-CO2 and anti-smog surfaces, and focusing more and more on the segments with greater added value such as large format and minimum thickness surfaces (large slabs or sintered stones) and small and extra small formats, characterizing itself as a unicum in the sector and a real “multi specialist”.
Lorenzo Stanca, managing partner of Mindful Capital and Chairman of Italcer, underlined “We are very satisfied with this transaction. The new financing structure leads to a reduction in the overall cost of debt, compared to the maturing one”.
Italcer’s CEO, Graziano Verdi, added: “With the completion of the refinancing, a phase of further growth and development opens for Italcer, always with a marked focus on the high-end range”.
Francesco Di Trapani, Senior Advisor of Pemberton commented: “We are pleased to have supported Italcer’s ambitious growth project in recent years, contributing to the creation of an important group in the sector. We wish the company and its stakeholders all the best for further success in the years to come.”
Alexis Attelis, Co-Head of Europe and Partner at OHA, said: “OHA is pleased to partner with a world class company and management team. We look forward to supporting Italcer through the next phase of its growth with our tailored capital solution.”
Italcer group ended 2023 with a pro forma EBITDA of just over Euro 80m, on revenues of Euro 340m. Italcer was advised in the transaction by PwC’s debt advisory team led by Alessandro Azzolini. Legal assistance was provided by Legance, with teams led by Marco Gubitosi and Tommaso Bernasconi. Gitti & Partners acted as tax and structuring advisor, with the team led by Diego De Francesco.
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Mindful Capital Partners (MCP) is an independent Private Equity firm, specialising in venture capital investments of small and medium-sized companies with growth potential in international markets. MCP is headquartered in Luxembourg, with offices in Milan and Shanghai, whilst coverage of German-speaking countries is ensured by its long-standing experience with a local advisor. The integrated presence of the investment team in different geographies allows MCP to offer its investee companies decisive support in the development of internationalisation strategies.
About OHA: Oak Hill Advisors (OHA) is a leading global credit-focused alternative asset manager with over 30 years of investment experience. OHA works with institutions and individuals and seeks to deliver a consistent track record of attractive risk-adjusted returns. The firm manages approximately $65 billion of capital across credit strategies, including private credit, high yield bonds, leveraged loans, stressed and distressed debt and collateralized loan obligations as of June 30, 2024. OHA’s emphasis on long-term partnerships with companies, sponsors and other partners provides access to a proprietary opportunity set, allowing for customized credit solutions across market cycles.
With over 400 experienced professionals across six global offices, OHA brings a collaborative approach to offering investors a single platform to meet their diverse credit needs. OHA is the private markets platform of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAǪ – GS: TROW). For more information, please visit oakhilladvisors.com.
