FSI's Cedacri carves out Oasi from PE-backed Nexi for €151m

Alessia Argentieri
23 January 2019

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Private-equity-backed Nexi, a provider of payment services, has sold its subsidiary Oasi to FSI's fintech business Cedacri.

Oasi has an enterprise value of €151m, which equates to 15.8x its 2017 EBITDA. The EV could be open to further adjustment depending on the final determination of Oasi's net financial position, according to a statement.

Cedacri will finance the acquisition with a debt package provided by a pool of 14 banks, some of which are part of its shareholder base.

Following the acquisition, Oasi CEO Alfredo Pallini will continue to lead the company.

FSI, via its mid-market growth equity fund, acquired a 27% stake in Cedacri in January 2018. According to the Italian press, the deal involved an equity commitment of €99m, valuing Cedacri at more than €365m – or around 8.5x its estimated 2017 EBITDA.

The group's 14 shareholder banks, including Banca Mediolanum, Cassa di Risparmio di Asti, Banco di Desio e della Brianza, Banca Popolare di Bari, Unipol Banca, Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano, Banca del Piemonte and Credem, held the remaining 73% stake. The deal was the first investment made by FSI Mid-Market Growth Equity Fund – the new vehicle born out of Fondo Strategico Italiano, which held a third close on €1.25bn in June 2018.

Nexi is owned by private equity firms Bain Capital, Advent International and Clessidra. The company was established in 2017 by combining several businesses including Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane, which the three private equity firms acquired in June 2015 in a deal valued at €2.15bn. According to press reports, the three owners of Nexi are considering a potential IPO this year and have selected Evercore to advise on the process.

Company
Headquartered in Milan, Oasi specialises in IT solutions for banking compliance. The company is part of the Nexi group, which provides payment and merchant services, ATM management, inter-bank corporate banking, clearing and settlement, cards-to-payment acceptance technologies and money transfers. Oasi reported EBITDA of €9.5m from revenues of €27.5m in 2017, while Nexi generated EBITDA of €303.9m and net profit of €79m from revenues of €855.9m.

People
FSI – Maurizio Tamagnini (CEO).
Cedacri – Corrado Sciolla (CEO).
Nexi – Paolo Bertoluzzo (CEO).
Oasi – Alfredo Pallini (CEO).

Advisers
Acquirer – Equita (corporate finance); Studio Mazzoni Regoli (legal).
Vendor – UBS (corporate finance); Mediobanca (corporate finance); Dentons (legal).