Ergon acquires Fundició Dúctil Benito

Susannah Birkwood
02 August 2011

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

Belgium mid-cap firm Ergon Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in Catalan company Fundició Dúctil Benito in its first transaction in Spain.

The investment was channelled via Ergon's third fund, ECP III, which was launched in 2010. It involved the provision of replacement capital followed by a capital increase. The company was bought for between €50-100m from the founding family, which retains a minority stake.

Having had contact with the company prior to the deal's origination, Ergon was convinced that Benito has strong international growth potential and a track record of success, as demonstrated by its weathering of the economic troubles in Spain by increasing its presence abroad. With the help of its network, the investor aims to triple overseas turnover over the next four years by securing large contracts in new countries.

Benito was attracted to Ergon, meanwhile, due to its industrial focus, international network and its understanding of the needs of family businesses.

Ergon is currently studying other deals in Spain, having noticed that a number of multinational companies are leaving Catalonia for Eastern Europe at present due to the economic situation.

Debt
Debt for this transaction was structured by La Caixa (lead arranger), BBVA and UBI International and represents 50% of the total deal value.

Company
Barcelona-based Fundició Dúctil Benito designs, manufactures, and sells cast-iron covers and grates, site furnishings, children's playground equipment, and public lighting. It generates an annual turnover of around €70m, with international sales representing a fifth of this amount, or €15m.

The company was founded in 1914 and has a workforce of 170.

People
Nicola Zambon, partner and managing director of Ergon's Spanish office, led the deal for Ergon and joins the company's board.

Joaquim Carandell, whose family founded the company, and Marcos Carrasquilla continue in their respective roles as chairman and general manager of Benito.

Advisers
Equity – Lazard, Enrique Namey (Corporate finance); Garrigues, José Manuel Martin; Herbert Smith, Gonzalo Martin (Legal); KPMG, David Hohn (Financial, tax, labour and legal due diligence); a.Connect, Robert Steenhof (Operations); Willis, Alfonso Conde (Insurance); Electa Group, Massimo Longoni (Structuring).
Debt – DLA Piper, Jesus Zapata (Legal).