Cosimo Vitola
Ethica Group
Biolchim S.p.A.
Deal Type
Company sale
Sector
Industrials
Completion Date
29th September 2017
Deal Value
Not disclosed
Company Background
Biolchim Group produces and sells a full range of specialty fertilizers products, mainly biostimulants, marketed under the Biolchim, Cifo, Ilsa and Bionatura brands.
Deal Summary
Ethica Corporate Finance, advised Chequers Capital and NB Renaissance Partners in the acquisition of a controlling stake stake in Biolchim Group from Wise SGR , a leading specialty fertilizers company.
Headquartered in Medicina (Bologna, Northern Italy), Biolchim Group produces and sells a full range of specialty fertilizers products, mainly biostimulants, marketed under the Biolchim, Cifo, Ilsa and Bionatura brands. Biolchim’s business model is built upon a complete offering of diversified products, direct access to raw materials and a global sales network which is supported by a highly specialized team of agronomists, biologists and chemists engaged in the development of innovative products and technologies.
Biolchim Group experienced significant growth over the last years to approximately €115 million expected in 2017. International markets now represent 35% of total sales with and expecting further expansion abroad .
Value Added
Given the very strong relationship with the selling PE fund Wise, Ethica had been working alongside Biolchim at different stages of their investment lifecycle, from supporting in finding potential add-on targets to refinancing the existing leverage in 2015 through its Debt Advisory team. Such work helped building a solid knowledge of the asset and a strong relationship with the Group’s CEO.
Leveraging on the above, Ethica presented a solid investment case to Chequers Capital and facilitated discussions with Wise, even before the asset was formally put on the market, which allowed Chequers to gain an early in-depth knowledge of the Group and identify key transaction drivers and potential critical issues, thus building a competitive advantage vs other potential bidders. Discussions then evolved into a soft tender process with selected bidders, during which Ethica supported Chequers throughout the whole Due Diligence, negotiation and bidding process. Chequers eventually joined forces with NB Renaissance to create a stronger partner to the Group and its management team, leveraging on an international breadth coupled with a solid local presence in Italy.
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