Nexxus Iberia buys STM

Unquote understands that the GP bought a stake of around 70%, while the founder and management team retained the remainder.

Kartesia provided a €14m senior debt facility for the acquisition and to support future growth.

The GP invested via Nexxus Iberia Private Equity Fund I, deploying an equity ticket of around €15m, Unquote understands.

Nexxus intends to support STM's growth and international expansion across Europe and in Mexico. It also plans to build an aggregation platform in the security services industry by acquiring other companies operating in similar or complementary segments of the markets.

Nexxus Iberia Private Equity Fund I held a final close on €170m in February 2020 and is currently around 50% deployed. It targets investments in Spanish companies with EBITDA in the €3-12m range that have the potential to be expanded into Mexico and the US. It has the flexibility to take majority and minority stakes, and uses moderate leverage of around 2x EBITDA. The fund deploys equity tickets of €15-20m and plans to make a total of 8-10 investments in companies with enterprise values of €40-100m.

This is the seventh investment made by the fund and the fourth inked this year, following its acquisition of Grupo Bienzobas, a provider of specialised oncology care services for insurance companies and hospitals; its investment in Spanish logistics specialist Maresa Logistica; and its recent purchase of Portuguese radiotherapy specialist Mercurius Health.

"The acquisitions that we have made since the Covid-19 outbreak were inked in non-cyclical, crisis resistant sectors," Nexxus managing partner Maite Ballester told Unquote. "In addition, our portfolio companies have strong international operations in Europe and Latin America. The lesson that Spain has learned from the 2008 crisis is that its small and medium-sized companies should not rely solely on the Spanish market and should become more international. With our wide network in Latin America, we are able to support promising Iberian companies in their geographical expansion and international growth."

Company
Founded in 2004 and based in Barberà del Vallés, near Barcelona, STM is a manufacturer of anti-squatting electronic and traditional doors, e-locks, alarms and other security and access control equipment for real estate companies.

Its technology provides real-time remote control and monitoring of properties, as well as installation, removal, inspection and maintenance of security equipment.

STM generates annual revenues of around €20m.

People
Nexxus Iberia – Maite Ballester (managing partner); Pablo Gallo (partner).
STM – Juan José Lallave (founder); Josep Grasas (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – PwC (financial due diligence); Piedmont (commercial due diligence); Hermosilla (legal); Attalea Partners (ESG due diligence); GBS (financing).
Company – KPMG (financial due diligence).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Southern Europe
• Support services
• Spain
• coronavirus
• Kartesia