Portobello Capital buys car rental service Centauro

As part of the deal, listed alternative lender Tikehau Capital provided an undisclosed unitranche facility to support the acquisition and the growth strategy for the asset. Following the transaction, the company's CEO Erik Devesa will retain his role.

Under its new ownership, the business will undertake international expansion across Europe and expects to generate a turnover of €81m in 2017. According to a source familiar with the situation, the deal is the final investment for the GP's third fund, Portobello Fondo III.

Portobello Fondo III reached a €375m final close in September 2014 and currently has seven companies in its portfolio: elderly care homes manager Vitalia Home; prepared meals manufacturer IAN; mobile app developer Eysa; frozen fish distributor Iberconsa; large bearings and slewing rings producer Laulagun Bearings; food and spices distributor Ramón Sabater; and software developer Trison.

More recently, the GP held a €422m final close for its maiden secondary-dedicated vehicle, Portobello Secondary Fund I, in July 2015. The vehicle has acquired five companies from the firm's second vehicle, Portobello Fondo II: catering services provider Mediterránea; fish products manufacturer Angulas Aguinaga; outsourcing claims manager Multiasistencia; outsourcing logistics and marketing service GrupoUno CTC; and Ice Cream Factory.

Company
Founded in 1973, Centauro provides car rental services. The company is headquartered in Benidorm and manages 15 offices in Valencia, Baleares, Barcelona, Murcia, Malaga, Seville, Madrid, Lisbon, Porto and Faro.

The business has 18,000 coaches under management and posted €66m in revenues in 2016, according to a statement.

People
Portobello Capital – Luis Peñarrocha (founding partner).
Centauro – Francisco Devesa (founder); Erik Devesa (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Fidentiis Capital (corporate finance).
Vendor – Banco Santander (M&A).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• Southern Europe
• Spain
• Portobello Capital