Subscriptions for Ipo Challenger‘s bond will be closed next May 21st at around 50 million euros, MF-Milano Finanza writes today. Ipo Challenger is an Italian investment vehicle that in founders’ mind should be seen as an evolution of the more common Spac structure (Special purpose acquisition company).
The latter is a so-called blank-check company that have no operations but go public with the intention of merging with a target company with the proceeds of the Spac’s ipo. So the Spac’s shareholders (having subscribed common stocks and warrants) will become shareholders of the new entity which will be automatically listed on the Stock Exchange.
Founders of Ipo Challenger are Simone Strocchi and Angela Oggionni (both partners of advisory firm Electa), Electa and Luca Giacometti (board member ofi Digital Magics and partner of Capital Dynamics fund). The four were part of the same group of founders of Made in Italy 1, the first Spac incorporated under Italian Law that had been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in June 2011. Made in Italy 1 in February 2013 gave birth to a business combination (through a reverse merger) with Sesa, a leader in Italy in distribution of value-added IT solutions for enterprises with 700 million euros of revenues in the 9 months ended on January 31st 2014 and 37.5 millions of ebitda.
Ipo Challenger’s Chairman Strocchi explained that «the bond might be converted into common stock and warrants of a target company by 12 months after the issue date- At the same time the target company will be listed on the Stock Exchange with an ipo. The bond will also bring a put option with it that will entitle bondholders to recede from their investment during those 12 months, receiving back their invested capital with a decreasing discount (3%, then 2% and finally 1%) every four months’s time. The bond then won’t be listed on a regulated market as its liquidity will be granted by its own legal structure. The bond will pay a 0.5 pct coupon, net of the options premiumi».
Subscribers of the bond have been both institutional investors and private professional investors. More in detail, Azimut holding, the parent company of Azimut sgr, a leading independent asset manager in Italy, invested with its funds in the bond and proposed the bond to its wealth management private clients. Among institutional investors IntesaSanpaolo bank and Kairos partners subscirbed the bond too.
Unique bond bookrunner was Intermonte, while D’Urso,Gatti Bianchi law firm supported Ipo Challenger in the deal on the legal side, Alessandro Falconi’s AF Advisor was Spac specialis and Advance Advisors was product specialist. Finally members of the board of auditors are well known Italian accountants David Reali, Guido Riccardi and Eugenio Romita.
