LBO France buys majority stake in Polis Fondi

Existing shareholders UBI, BPER Banca, Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Banca Valsabbinia, Sanfelice 1893, Unione Fiduciaria and Banca Popolare di Vicenza are to retain a stake in the company, according to a statement.

According to Polis Fondi's website, UBI, Banca Popolare di Vicenza, BPER Banca and Banca Popolare di Sondrio each held a 19.6% stake in the company, while Sanfelice 1893 Banca Popolare and Banca Valsabbina each held a stake of 9.8%. Unione Fiduciaria owned the remaining 2% stake in the business.

Italian publication Milano Finanza reported in August 2019 that Polis Fondi was likely to be sold by its banking shareholders.

LBO France has an Italian office in Milan and operates in Italy via its Gioconda division. The office comprises a team of three people focused on the deployment of the firm's small-cap strategy. The GP also has an office in Rome, which focuses on energy investments.

The GP said in a statement that the deal is its first in the real estate market in the transalpine region, adding that it intends to help the company strengthen its pan-European and credit strategies.

The GP's latest Small Caps Opportunities fund held a final close in December 2018 on €104m. The fund makes investments in high-growth companies based in France and Italy, focusing on businesses with enterprise values of less than €100m.

Company
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Milan, Polis Fondi is a real estate fund manager with around €1bn in assets under management. The firm manages several real estate funds, the latest of which are PolisCare and MIRE 1.

People
LBO France – Robert Daussun (CEO).
Polis Fondi – Paolo Berlanda (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – EY (corporate finance); Orrick (legal).
Vendor – Deloitte (M&A); Legance (legal).

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