Green Arrow sells Somacis Graphic in SBO to Chequers

The transaction, which also sees the company’s management exit, marks the second divestment from Green Arrow Private Equity Fund 3, which held a final close on EUR 230m in August 2018, according to Unquote Data.

The deal was part of an auction process that started in 2021, with Green Arrow initially set to collect non-binding offers in early April, Mergermarket reported. After the deadline was postponed to allow the pandemic to further abate, preliminary offers were expected by the end of July, as reported.

Italian sponsor Quadrivio, acquired by Green Arrow in 2018, first invested in the company in February 2016 via its Quadrivio Private Equity Fund 3, now Green Arrow Private Equity Fund 3, according to Unquote Data. Quadrivo bought Somacis for EUR 100m from IMI Fondi Chiusi, which previously held 79% of the shares, and six family offices, which held onto a 21% stake.

French GP Chequers Capital is acquiring Somacis via its XVII FPCI fund, which held a final close on EUR 1.1bn in May 2017.

Chequers was attracted to the “electronics supercycle” macro-trend that has been driving sector growth and the company’s technological capabilities in manufacturing across various geographies Massimo Massari, managing director and CIO at Green Arrow capital told Unquote. Highly complex PCBs are attractive for clients in industries with underlying growth trends, including aerospace, defence, and telecom infrastructure, he added.

Bank financing in support of the transaction has been provided by Crédit Agricole Italia that was mandated the lead arranger and agent, while Banca IFIS and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro was the mandated lead arranger, according to a press release.

In 2021, Somacis reported circa EUR 144m in sales, according to the press release.

Chequers, with circa EUR 2bn funds under management was due to have launched its XVII​I fund in May 2022. The fund is expected to follow its predecessor's strategies and invest in mid-market companies across Europe, according to Unquote Data.

Green Arrow Capital has approximately EUR 2bn in assets under management and its Private Equity Fund 4 was expected to launch with a EUR 350m target and a EUR 400m hard-cap in the first half of 2020, according to Unquote Data.

Company
Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Castelfidardo (Ancona, Italy), Somacis Graphic has a synergetic global production footprint with five manufacturing facilities across Italy (Castelfidardo, Manfredonia), UK (Devon), US (Poway, CA), and China (Dongguan). The group has internalized the design, engineering, prototyping, and production of PCBs for more than 600 clients across several end markets including Aerospace & Defense, Telecom Infrastructure, Industrials, IT, Automotive/EV and Medical Devices.

People
Chequers Capital− Philippe Guérin (managing director), Uwe Gleitz (director), Niccolò Leita (senior investment manager).
Somacis − Giovanni Tridenti (CEO).
Green Arrow Capital − Eugenio de Blasio (chairman and CEO), Daniele Camponeschi (co-founder and CIO), Massimo Massari (managing director and CIO), Giorgio Fenili (partner).

Advisers
Equity − Mediobanca (M&A); KPMG (financial and tax DD); Roland Berger (strategic DD), Simmons&Simmons (legal); ERM (environmental DD).
Vendor & Somacis: Jefferies, Cassiopea Partners (M&A); PwC (financial and tax DD); Goetzpartners (strategic DD); Chiomenti, Ecovis STLex (legal).

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