Bavaria Industries Group, a German industrial holding company specialising in the takeover and re-organisation of earnings-poor enterprises. put forward a formal bid for Italy’s distressed paper manufacturer Cartiere Paolo Pigna.
Bavaria Industries owns gruppo Arti grafiche (NIIAG – Nuovo Istituto Italiano d’Arti Grafiche, Eurogravure and Arti Grafiche Johnson) in Italy already and the deal will actually involve Arti Grafiche group (see here the press release). Talks have been ongoing since last September.
Cartiere Pigna, supported by studio DMC law firm. had addressed Bergamo’s Court last September asking for a so called blank-bankrupcty procedure (concordato in bianco) which allows the asking company protection from creditors. On Wednesday December 16th the company asked Bergamo Court to be admitted to an arragement with creditors (concordato preventivo) on the basis of a new industrial plan which involves the new investor Bavaria.
More in detail, Bavaria Industries, supported by Grimaldi Studio Legale law firm (see here the press release), will not inject new finance in Cartiere Pigna, while it will take over the company’s management and give birth to industrial synergies with Arti Grafiche group in order to relaunch Cartiere PIgna’s growth and making the company able to reimburse part of its debt,
Cartiere Pigna is now nburdened by 70 million euros of debt, MF Milano Finanza writes today, Half of this debt is versus group suppliers /especially versus Buurgo group), 25 millions are banking debt while 10 millions are debts versus the Inland Revenue.
Cartiere Pigna is today controlled by chairman and ceo Giorgio Jannone, who is also a member of the House of Representatives at the Italian Parliament. The company reached 38.8 million euros in revenues in 2014 and recorded a 2,8 million euros in net losses after having lost 3.6 millions in 2013.
Mr. Jannone had subscribed a 9.8 million euros capital increase in Cartiere Pigna in 2011 as the company was in financial distress so he raised his stake to the actual 82.8% (the remining 15.9% being owned by Mr. Carlo Pesenti Pigna‘s heirs). Last Spring Mr. Jannone covered Cartiere PIgna’s FY 2014 net losses and invested 500k euros of new equity. However that was not enough.
Arti Grafiche, which has 250 million euros in revenues and 35 millions in free cash, has been looking for a target in Italy since last March, the company’s ceo John Kraal told the local press.
