Spain reaps highest value in Q1 since 2005

Amedeo Goria
28 April 2017

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In the first quarter of 2017, the aggregate value of Spanish private equity deals reached its highest level since the pre-crisis year of 2005. Amedeo Goria reports

Spain closed the first quarter of the year with the highest amount of private equity capital deployed since 2005, according to unquote" data. During the first three months of the year, the country saw an aggregate €4.7bn of capital invested through 20 transactions. This is the highest value since the second and the third quarters of 2005, when the country totalled €5.6bn and €5.2bn respectively.

Several high-profile acquisitions, in which international players took the leading role, impacted the exceptionally high figure. The largest acquisition saw US buyout house Hellman & Friedman and Singapore's sovereign fund GIC acquire Madrid-based lender Allfunds Bank for €1.8bn in March from Santander, Intesa Sanpaolo, Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic.

GED Capital completed the largest transaction during Q1, acquiring a 90% stake in food containers company Araven

The Allfunds deal coincided with four other large transactions, with deals above €100m accounting for 93% of the total capital deployed in Spain in Q1. Among those deals, KKR acquired a 40% stake in telecommunications infrastructure manager Telxius from Telefonica for €1.28bn in February, while during the same month Warburg Pincus purchased a controlling stake in Accelya, a provider of financial advisory services to airline and travel businesses, from Chequers Capital for an estimated €650m.

Furthermore, Trilantic Capital Partners bought a stake in leisure and entertainment business Pacha Group alongside Spanish buyout firm MCH Private Equity and VC investor GPF Capital for a reported €350m and CVC Capital Partners acquired healthcare centre manager Vitalia Home from Portobello Capital. According to press reports, Portobello reaped €250-275m from the Vitalia deal, which valued the business at €300m.

Among Spanish private equity houses GED Capital completed the largest transaction in the country, acquiring a 90% stake in food containers company Araven in February from Ibercaja, Capital Innovación y Crecimiento and A Capital Activos Empresariales. Press sources put the deal value at around €40m, with Spanish alternative lender Oquendo Capital providing a blended package of equity and mezzanine to support the buyout and acquire a minority stake.

A good vintage
Though Spain's upper-mid, large-cap and mega-deal spaces remain dominated by large international deal-makers, Spanish investors also enjoyed a positive vintage last year, as seen in figures from Ascri, the country's private equity and venture capital association. Indeed, on the fundraising front, domestic fund managers reaped commitments of €2.23bn in 2016, marking a 52% uptick compared with the previous year. In the same period, Spanish investors also completed the highest number of transactions since Ascri's records began.

The hidden motor of the country's private equity industry remained the two state-backed funds-of-funds, both launched in 2013: Innvierte, which is managed by Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnologico Industrial (CDTI) and was initially provided with €234.5m of firepower, and Fond-ICO Global, which is managed by Axis and has already invested 80% of its original €1.5bn pot.

More recently, several private equity funds held final closes in 2016, including Black Toro Capital, Nazca Capital, Abac Capital, Realza Capital, Alantra and Meridia Capital. Meanwhile, among the venture capital players, Ysios Capital Partners, Aurica Capital Desarrollo, Columbus Venture Capital, Kibo Ventures, K Funds, Swanlaab Venture Factory, Samaipata Ventures and Inveready Technology Investment Group successfully completed their latest fundraises, as unquote" recently reported in its Annual Buyout Review.

Following a buoyant start in 2017, Spanish GPs can now look to a promising year ahead.