Investindustrial to buy minority stake in Guala for €91m

The offer targets up to 20% of the company's voting share, equal to around 15,166,000 ordinary shares, at a price of €6.00 per share, for a total amount of €91m.

The bid was made via Special Packaging Solutions Investment, a subsidiary of Investindustrial VII. The fund held a fnal close on €3.75bn, surpassing its initial target of €3bn, in November 2019. It targets controlling stakes in European companies operating in the consumer goods, industrial and healthcare service sectors.

The fund deploys equity tickets in the €50-100m range for its lower-mid-market deals and of around €350m for its larger deals. It also co-invests with LPs for larger and selective mid-market opportunities.

Investindustrial intends to support Guala's expansion both organically and through new acquisitions in complementary markets and segments. The GP currently has no plans to de-list the company from the stock market, according to a statement.

Guala shares are currently trading at €5.86, up 22.08%.

Previous funding
Private equity firm aPriori Capital Partners bought a majority stake in Guala in 2008, while NB Renaissance Partners and SwanCap Investment Management acquired a minority holding.

The deal was made via GCL Holdings, an entity controlled by aPriori and co-invested by Melville, a company managed by NB Renaissance and SwanCap via its vehicle Private Equity Opportunities Fund II.

They sold the company to Space Holding and Peninsula Capital in a reverse merger that took place in April 2018. According to the deal, Guala was acquired by Space4, a special purpose acquisition company launched by Space Holding, and was listed on the Star segment of the Italian stock exchange via a reverse merger.

The total investment in the transaction amounted to €600m, which included the entire €500m raised by Space4 and additional capital provided by Peninsula Capital and the company's management team, led by CEO Marco Giovannini.

After completion of the acquisition, Peninsula held a 7% stake, Space4 controlled a 4% stake, aPriori, NB and SwanCap maintained a combined 3% holding and the management team retained 14%, while a stake of around 71% was listed on the market. Guala reached a market capitalisation of €650m at the end of the listing process.

Company
Founded in 1954 and based in Alessandria, Guala specialises in manufacturing aluminium and plastic closures for bottles and containers for the food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries.

The company has a presence in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates 29 production sites. It employs 4,700 staff and produces 20 billion closures per year.

Guala generated adjusted EBITDA of €114m from revenues of €607m in 2019, 90% of which came from outside Italy. It also reported net financial debt of €462.5m.

People
Guala Closures – Marco Giovannini (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – BonelliErede (legal); Chiomenti (tax); Lazard (corporate finance); UniCredit (corporate finance); Kepler Cheuvreux (financial adviser).

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