NB Aurora acquires minority stake in Club del Sole

A pool of Italian family offices took part in the deal alongside NB Aurora and acquired an additional 12% for €15m.

The vendors are Italian private equity firm Emisys Capital and several minority shareholders. Emisys acquired a minority stake in Club del Sole via its €131m Emisys Development Fund in 2015.

The company's founders, the Giondi family, will retain the remaining 60% stake and continue to lead the business in this new phase of expansion. Club del Sole plans to use the fresh capital to further boost its growth and expand via additional acquisitions.

According to the deal, NB Aurora and the other co-investors will invest €50m in a newly created limited company, which will control, through a transfer in kind, the stakes and assets owned by the Giondi family and other minority shareholders in Club del Sole. Subsequently, the newco will use the capital raised to buy Emisys's stake in the business and to make additional bolt-on acquisitions, which are already in the pipeline.

Company
Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Forlì, Club del Sole manages and operates 11 camping sites located across six regions in central and northern Italy. The company offered accommodations in 2,400 camping spots and 3,200 bungalows, semi-permanent tents and mobile homes to 1.8 million tourists in 2017, of which 52% came from outside Italy, primarily Germany, the Netherlands and France.

In addition to the accommodation, Club del Sole's camping sites feature a wide range of restaurants, bars, swimming pools, beach clubs and recreational facilities located within their perimeter. The company recorded revenues of €38.4m, profit of €1.7m and net debt of €6.7m in 2017, and expects to generate EBITDA of €12m from revenues of €42m in 2018.

People
Neuberger Berman – Lorenzo Baraldi (managing director).
Club del Sole – Riccardo Giondi (CEO).
Emisys Capital – Philippe Minard, Andrea Cappuccio (managing partners).

Advisers
Acquirers – NCTM (legal); EY (corporate finance, tax).
Vendors – Pedersoli Studio Legale (legal); Banca Euromobiliare (corporate finance); Studio Scala Giondi (tax).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
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• Southern Europe
• Consumer
• Italy
• EY (Ernst & Young)