Kartesia takes over Desmet Ballestra in lender-led deal

As a result of the deal, Kartesia will hold the majority of the company's capital.

The debt provider is taking over from private equity firm Equistone Partners, which first invested in the group in 2007.

Kartesia first started investing in the group in 2012, progressively buying back the company's debt, originally provided by around 30 different banks, the firm said. In 2015, Kartesia had acquired around 60% of the total debt pool.

Conscious of Desmet Ballestra's need to recapitalise its balance sheet, in 2015 Kartesia progressively reached an agreement with all remaining stakeholders to restructure the balance sheet by converting the original debt into equity.

Most of the debt has now been converted into equity, Kartesia said, with the remaining portion of debt representing a 2-3x EBITDA multiple. Two of the group's historical banks have also committed to a four-year bonding line facility, renewing their support to the group.

Kartesia's aim is to stabilise the group and ensure its continuity in the long run.

Previous funding
In January 2007, Equistone acquired an undisclosed majority stake in the Desmet Ballestra group. The company's management team also took an equity stake. The debt package consisted of senior and mezzanine debt, provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland and KBC.

In March 2012, Equistone re-invested €15m in the group, acquiring a minority stake for an undisclosed amount.

Company
The Desmet Ballestra group engineers and supplies plants and equipment for the edible oil, detergents, surfactants, oleochemical and biodiesel industries. The company operates a network of local subsidiaries across the world and has set up 6,000 processing units across 148 countries.

The group resulted from the merger in 2004 of Belgium-based De Smet, an oil seed and edible oil processing business which was founded in 1946, and Italy-based Ballestra, a specialist in process plants and technologies for detergents founded in 1960.

People
Kartesia – Laurent Bouvier (partner).
Bayside Capital – Alice Cavalier-Feuillet (director).

Advisers
Equity – Messier Maris & Associés, Jean-François Cizain (M&A); Ashurst, Yann Gozal, Jean-Pierre Farges, Nadine Gelli, Amanda Bevan, Sonia Bouaffassa, Joseph Gadenne, Charles Peugnet, Thomas Jeannin, Margaux Baratte (legal). 
Vendor – King & Wood Mallesons, Maxence Bloch (legal).
Company – Weil Gotshal & Manges, Cassandre Porges (legal); Paul Hastings, Alexis Terray (legal); Oloryn Partners, Roland de Farcy (M&A).

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• Topics
• Refinancing
• Exits
• Benelux
• Industrials
• Italy
• Belgium
• Luxembourg
• Secondary buyout