Gruppo Coin, a leading Italian retail chain, which in turn is owned by paneuropean private equity operator BC Partners , Italian private equity operator Investindustrial and Canadian Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is back on the market as shareholders are said to have mandated Rotschild to manage the sale process (see here Il Sole 24 Ore).
Funds acquired control of Coin Group in 2011 after having delisted it from the Italian Stock Exchange. Back then the goup was controlled through Icon 1 sa, aLuxembourg holding, by Bc Partners with an 80.5% stake, by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan with a 13.68% stake, by Investindustrial with 4.56% (through GB Holdings) while the management controlled a 1.245% stake. Shareholder funds also invested in convertible, non-convetible and pik debt instruments in a non-proportional way to their equity partecipation issued by Icon, with Investindustrial that subscribed the whole issue of 57.5 million euros of pik instruments (see here MF Milano Finanza).
In April 2013 shareholders funds subscribed a 53.8 million euros capital increase in Coin Group in order to fix the group capital structure and keep on investing in the business (see here MF Milano Finanza). The recap was made through Icon 2 sarl and was a due step as revenues in FY 2012-2013 were stable at 1.465 billion euros (from 1.492 billions in the previous FY), but ebitda had dropped to 150 millioneuros from 186.9 millions the previous year.
Coin Group reach 1.56 billion euros in revenues in FY 2015-2016 (from 1.51 billions an year before) with a net financial debt down to 358.6 million euros (from 822.5 milioni) (see here an analysis by Leanus, after free registration and login).
Coin Group still retain a significant stake in Milan-listed casual wear retail chain Ovs and speaking at Ovs’s ipo ceremony in March 2015 BC Partners’ partner Nikos Stathopoulos (see here a previous post by BeBeez), who is also Coin’s chairman, said that the fund is open to all possible exits for Coin Group. “We still not have decided yet”, he said, adding that “Coin might be a good opportunity for an international group which is intentioned to enter Italy’s market as Coin is the major department store operator in the country”.
A couple of weeks ago Coin sold in an accelerated bookbuilding process an 11% stake of Ovs capital while ceo Stefano Beraldo and some top managers acquired a 0.935% stake of Ovs from Coin. With this double deal Coin cashed 166 million euros in and lowered its stake to 30.185% (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In April 2016 Coin had sold a first 10% stake in an accelerated bookbuilding process cashing 129 million euros in (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
Ovs’ s ipo involved the sale of a 47.88% stake in Ovs capital at a 4.1 euros per share price so that proceeds for the group were 445.6 million euros. The ipo consisted both in a capital increase and in a sale of share from actual shareholders. Coin had lowered its partecipation to 52.12% after the ipo.
