Banca Popolare di Sondrio called off the 30 million euros worth acquisition of 70.77% of Farbanca, a lender to drugstores from Banca Popolare di Vicenza (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Banca d’Italia asked BPS to focus its efforts on reducing its distressed credits and strengthening its internal audit and compliance procedures. In October 2019, the European Central Bank asked BPS to call off the acquisition of Cassa di Risparmio di Cento for the same reasons. Farbanca is up for sale since 2017, when Chinese CEFC China Energy Company unsuccesfully tried to acquire the asset. Farbanca reportedly attracted the interest of Banca Ifis, Credito Valtellinese, Blue Skye, and Atlas. In 1H19, Farbanca posted net profits of 2.5 million (-20% yoy), equity of 63.9 million (+2%), Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 15.17%. The company’s ceo is Giampiero Bernardelle. Popolare di Sondrio is finalizing the sale of a one billion worth protfolio of Npls through a Gacs-backed securitization. After such a sale, BPS will carry on its derisking strategy with the sale of a portfolio of distressed credits amounting to 500 million and the reinforcement of its in-house credit recovery activities.
BeBeez is the media partner for the Alma Iura and RR&P Commercialisti e Avvocati associate event for banks and professionals that work in the sector of NPLs and UTPs (See here a previous post by BeBeez) The congress will take place on 13 October 2020 at Palazzo della Gran Guardia in Verona. Rainer Masera will hold a keynote speech together with Stefania Peveraro, the Editor in Chief of BeBeez. The members of the conference scientific board are Masera (chairman), the head of the Economics Faculty at Marconi University and former chairman and ceo of Sanpaolo IMI; Paola Maria Di Leonardo, the Chief General Counsel of Gruppo UBI Banca; Riccardo Genghini, public Notary in Milan; Gaetano Lattanzi, the Head of NPL at BHW Bausparkasse; Silvia Lodi, the head of NPL Legal affairs at Banca Ifis; Maddalena Mandarà, the head of financial Mathematics Department at Alma Iura; Giuseppe Mantini, the Head Area Workout of Non Performing Credit Department at Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. Further members are Riccardo Marciò, the head of NPL department of Banco Desio; Federico Rizzetto, the Head of Legal Network at Amco (fka SGA); Marco Rossi – Co-managing partner at RR&P Commercialisti e Avvocati associati; Maurizio Silvi – Vice director of the Trento branch of Banca d’Italia; Carlo Viola – Vice Chairman Board of Directors – Intesa Sanpaolo Provis.
The European Commission said on 26 February that the amount of NPLs and UTPs for Italian banks is still higher compared to European peers even if NPE ratio dropped to 8.1% in Q2 2019 from 8.4% in Q4 2018 (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In June 2019, UTPs make 43% of the banks’ NPE stock. That’s why Italian banks are still lowering their lending to SMEs while SMEs are increasing issues of so called minibonds (find out here how to subscribe to BeBeez News Premium for just 20 euros per month and read the BeBeez Private Debt, direct lending and fintech lending 2019 Report ).
Credito Fondiario aims to list by the end of 2020, coo Jacopo di Francisco said pointing out that the company may carry on acquisition soon (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Credito Fondiario has 51.2 billion euros of assets under management spread over more than 40 securitization spvs and credit lines of more than 1.2 million. Credito Fondiario handles more than 17 billion of credits as special servicer and a portfolio of proprietary investments with a purchasing price of 1.1 billion.
The holders of troubled listed Italian contractor Astaldi’s 140 million euros equity-linked notes due to mature in 2024 agreed with the company’s restructuring plan (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Astald is in receivership since August 2019 and is of reported interest to Progetto Italia, a sector consolidation pole that Salini Impregilo leads together with anchor investor Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. The holders of Astaldi’s 750 million senior bond (coupon of 7.125% and maturity in 2020) will decide on 10 or 24 March 2020 whether to approve the company’s restructuring plan and appoint their representatives for the 26 March hearing before Rome’s Court Judge Angela Coluccio. In 2019, Fortress provided Astald with a 75 million bridge loan and subscribed together with King Street a Vienna-listed supersenior bond due to mature in February 2022. In October 2019, Salini Impregilo purchased the bond and decided for a potential increase of the liability to up to 190 million
Crif Ratings said that 83% of Confidi (Credit Consortia) have mid-low risk (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Confidi improved the quality of their assets while keeping stable their liquidity and profitability. Crif said that major Confidi have an equity surplus of 16 million. However, low margins are triggering for a sector consolidation.
Invest Banca sold its 19% stake in Main Capital to the target’s shareholders Cordifin (the holding of the Cordioli Family), Zuben Consulting, Massimo Bernardo De Dominicis, and Milan listed Wm Capital (now 7.2% owner) (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Invest Banca and Vincenzo Macaione, the former ceo and shareholder of Npl Primus Capital, founded Main Capital in May 2018 together with Homar and Walter Serramidigni, the part owners of Surfaces Technological Abrasives (of which Astorg Partners and Xenon Provate Equity have a stake); the Basile Family ( the owners of security company KSM-Ivri), and further private investors. Main Capital Fund launched a direct lending fund with a fundraising target of 250 million in 2019 and announced the launch of a vehicle for investing in UTP corporate credits. Sign up here for BeBeez newsletter about Private Debt and receive all the last 24 hours updates for the sector.
Hedge Invest received the authorization of Banca d’Italia for launching an Eltif that Algebris’ Luca Mori will manage (European Long Term Investment Fund) (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Such fund has a fundraising target of 200 million euros and will carry on mid and long-term investments in willing to list and listed Italian SMEs, with a market capitalization of less than 500 million. The Manuli family founded Hedge Invest in 2000. The firm has asset under management (aum) for 800 million. In 2006, Davide Serra created Algebris which has aum amounting to 13 billion US Dollars. Massimo Massimilla heads Algebris Milan bureau since June 2015. In February 2019, Algebris set a one billion euros fundraising target for its third Npl Fund. Stefania Peveraro, the chief editor of BeBeez, detailed about the private market products for private banking clients in her book “Private Capital. Esperienze e soluzioni. Ecco perché la finanza alternativa funziona” (click here for free download) of which EdiBeez is the publisher.
In 2019, Italian wealth manager Banca Generali carried on the placement of a structured product with an underlaying of 60 million euros of mid and long-term credits to almost 450 Italian SMEs that were available on Credimi, an Italian platform originally focused just on invoice financing (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In 2019, Credimi started to operate in the sector of mid and long-term lending (find out here how to subscribe to BeBeez News Premium for just 20 euros per month and read the BeBeez Private Debt, direct lending and fintech lending 2019 Report ). Claudia Vacanti, the products director of Banca Generali, said to BeBeez that such an initiative is part of the alternative investment opportunities that the bank offers to its professional clients. One of these is Credimi Flexi, a long-term financing product that the bank grants in partnership with CDR Italia and the Elite programme of Borsa Italiana. The product is an unsecured financing with a 5 years tenure (one year of pre-amortisation). Vacanti explained further that the product pays a coupon of a floating rate of 500 basis points over the 3 months Euribor rate. The interbanking warranty fund secures 70% of the underlying credits. In the first part of 2020, the product Credito Futuro provided 15 million in financing that the Luxembourg subsidiary of Banca Generali and Credimi securitize through the spv Lumen which issues ABS shares that BG Fund Management Luxembourg (part of Banca Generali), Anthilia Capital Partners, Anima, Tikehau Capital, and Banca Sella subscribe. Ignazio Rocco di Torrepadula, a former senior partner of BCG, founded Credimi.
Mauro Sbroggiò, the ceo of the asset management unit of Gruppo Finint, said to BeBeez that the veichles for private debt investments may overachieve their 150 million euros fundraising target and hit the 175 million hard cap by the end of June 2020 (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Investors poured 110 million in Finint’s private debt funds, 30 million come from the European Investment Fund, while Banca Finint and Fondo Italiano d’Investimento acts as anchor investors. Sbroggiò said that Finint may also launch a private equity and a turnaround fund.
The default rate of Italian SMEs may go up to 6.8% from current 4.9% if the emergency related to the Coronavirus may continue to up to mid-2020, said a report of Cerved Rating Agency (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Defalut risk would stand at 2.6% for the pharmaceutical sector (from 3.8%) and at 10.6% for the construction companies (8.1%). In case the emergency extended until the end of 2020, the default risk would increase to 10.4% (7.5% for the Pharmaceutical sector and 15.4% for the construction companies). Cerved based such a simulation on 25,000 rating reports that recently issued on the grounds of results achieved using proprietary algorithms of machine learning and artificial intelligence. A report of risk management company ARisk said that few Italian SMEs insured their business continuity, therefore the effects of coronavirus can be devastating for companies that have a turnover of 1-5 million which burnt out cash for 0.103 million. Companies with sales of 5-10 million burnt out cash for 0.3 million and those with revenues of 10 – 15 million burnt out 0.45 million. (See here a previous post by BeBeez). The report analysed 245 SMEs based in Lodi area for the following clusters of sales posted in 2018: 1 – 5 million (164 companies); 5.1 – 10 million (63); 10.1 – 15 million (18) (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Luciano Tarantino and Giuseppe Vegas, the former chairman of Italian stock market authority Consob, are the ceo and chairman of ARisk. Guido Perboli, Valeria Lazzaroli, Beppe Di Sisto, Vittorio Pizzorno, and Vegas founded ARisk in 2019.
Euronext-listed lingerie group Perla Fashion Holding will launch next week the 200 million euros capital increase that announced in October 2020 (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Institutional investors will be able to buy 44.5 million of shares at 4.50 euros each. La Perla will invest such proceeds in repaying part of its debt and reinforcing its equity structure in view of eventual acquisitions. La Perla belongs to Dutch Tennor Holding (fka Sapinda) a vehicle of Lars Windhorst. The company carried on a direct listing on Euronext on 6 September 2019 for increasing the company’s visibility. The company’s shares price has been of 4.50 euros for a market capitalization of 473 million. In May 2019, La Perla raised 23 million through a private placement capital increase from Heritage Travel & Tourism, H2O Asset Management, the troubled asset manager of Natixis, and three other investors. Windhorst may reimburse the 500 million bond that issued at the end of February 2018 (Maturity in March 2023 and 7.25% coupon) for financing the acquisition of La Perla. H2O subscribed more than 300 million of such liability. In 2018, La Perla posted sales of 106.2 million, operative losses of 91.3 million and a gross financial debt of 103.1 million. In 1H19, La Perla turnover has been of 40.3 million, operative losses of 42.2 million, and the gross financial debt of 116.5 million. In October 2008, second-generation owner Alberto Masotti sold La Perla to San Francisco-based private equity JH Partners. In June 2013, Silvio Scaglia acquired the company out of a bankruptcy auction with an investment of 350 million. However, the group had not yet managed to reach the breakeven and, compared to about 150 million euros in revenues, at the end of 2017 it still lost 80-100 million. In February 2018, Sapinda Holding purchased the asset after Chinese conglomerate Fosun called off the buy.
Patrick Del Bigio is the new ceo of Italian real estate asset manager Prelios sgr, part of Prelios group which is also one of the major servicer of Italian real estate non performing loan portfolios (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Del Bigio, 46 years old, graduated in Economics at Dublin’s Trinity College and holds an Executive MBA from UK’s Cambridge University. Del Bigio worked in London and New York for Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch International, SNB Stabfund / UBS, and Blackrock as a Credit-Alternative manager.
Milan Court accepted the receivership application of Forgiatura Moderna Arese (FMA), an Italian industrial company (see here a previous post by BeBeez). FMA could restructure its 60 million euros debt in view of relaunching the business. In 2017, FMA generated sales of 62.5 million (54.2 million yoy), an ebitda of minus 5.1 million (3.1 million), net losses of 9.95 million (net profits of 0.377 million) with a net financial debt of 38.3 million (41.5 million).
Gruppo Orlean acquired Venice Interport (VI) and Terminal Intermodale Adriatico (TIA) for 30 million euros (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Gruppo Orlean carried on the buy through the company River Dock, of which Gabriele Volpi, the majority owner of oil logistic company Intels Nigeria Limited, has a controlling stake. Umberto Lago and Roberto Reboni auctioned VI and TIA in the frame of the liquidation of Gruppo De Vecchi, a firm for which the owner Eugenio De Vecchi applied for receivership in 2013 as debt amounted to 120 million despite owning real estate assets worth 200 million. According to the restructuring plan, the De Vecchi will pay its secured and unsecured creditors with the proceeds of the sale of its real estate assets and through the recapitalization of the port business.
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