World Capital takes over from Fap Invest two logistic assets for 100 thousand Sq m

22 December, Milano Finanza

World Capital completed the sale of two logistic assets for 100 thousand Sq m owned by the real estate development company Fap Investments. The portfolio was acquired by DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA, the asset management division of Deutsche Bank on behalf of a managed real estate fund. The two assets accommodate Arcese Trasporti and the new Decathlon logistic hub. The facilities have been recently constructed, and they offer the highest quality standards. They feature photovoltaic panels covering 40-50% of the energy requirements.

Source: Milano Finanza

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Cushman & Wakefield advisor for DSV S.p.A. in the sale of a portfolio of three logistics properties

08 June, Logistica Efficiente

Cushman & Wakefield assisted in the role of advisor the logistics and transport company DSV S.p.A. in the sale of a portfolio composed of three logistics properties located in Limito di Pioltello (MI), Aprilia (LT) and Modena for a total surface of 116,000 Sq m.

The transaction was completed through a “sale & leaseback” operation by the Capital Markets division of Cushman & Wakefield.

According to Carlo Vannini, head of Capital Markets: “The sale of the DSV portfolio confirmed the considerable interest from the investors for the Italian logistics sector. The increased available liquidity and the more attractive returns compared to other European countries have attracted not only the institutional investors. However, the limited availability of the opportunities in the logistics segment doesn’t allow to obtain potentially higher volumes”.

Carlo Walder, Head of Capital Markets Industrial and Logistics, who looked after the transaction, adds: “Cushman & Wakefield has completed the second significant “sale & leaseback” operation on behalf of DSV S.p.A, the Italian branch of the Danish companies DSV A/S, following a transaction concerning a 130,000 Sq m properties in San Pietro Mosezzo (NO) last year. The properties included in the portfolio are located near important infrastructures, in strategic positions for the logistics and shipping activities of DSV in Italy. The interest shown by the market has been remarkable, thanks to the high profile of the lessee, the location of the properties and the duration of the lease contracts”.

Source: Logistica Efficiente

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

NPLs, start from 54 billion

06 January, Milano Finanza

2107 was a particularly active year for the NPLs sector, concerning banks, investors, and servicers. And 2018 will be the same. According to the BeBeez database, in fact, the players of the sector are already working on transactions for a gross value of 54 billion euro, if we count also the transactions that should have been concluded last year but have been postponed to this year, such as the NPL securitisation by MPS for 26.1 billion, or the 16.8 billion for bad loans and unlikely to pay of the two Venetian banks that haven’t been transferred to Sga yet since the related operational decrees haven’t been approved yet. For the remainder, the market is expecting an increase of operations concerning unlikely to pay loans since the new accounting principle Ifrs9 that was introduced this year, forcing banks to assess the likelihood of default of the credits. With this perspective, a new macro-category of credits has been introduced, that of sub-performing loans, namely performing loans that might become non-performing. The result is an increase of the weight of impaired credits other than bad loans in terms of guarantee capital to set aside. Moreover, as highlighted by PwC in its latest report published right before Christmas, the unlikely to pay credits have reached now 73 billion euro, against the 71 billion of bad loans. Hence, the focus now is on the unlikely to pay.

Furthermore, last year saw mixed transactions composed of bad loans and other impaired loans, or of bad loans only, such as the bad loans securitisation for 2.7 billion by Cr Rimini, Cr Cesena and Cr San Miniato and underwritten by Atlante II, as well as the bad loans for 2.2 billion sold to Atlante II by Banca Marche, Etruria and Cr Chieti.

In 2017 registered closed deals for 46 billion euro over the loans gross value, among which the biggest has been that concerning the project Fino by Unicredit for 17.7 billion.

Always last year, the activity of servicers and of NPL managing platforms has been remarkable. For what concerns platforms, the new platform of Banca Popolare di Bari, Credit Management, has been recently bought by Cerved Management Group for 18 million, plus an earn-out of approximately 3 million based on the achievement of the economic results till 2021, together with a ten-year agreement for the management by Cerved of roughly 1.1 billion NPLs, over 75% of the future bad loans and 55% of the future unlikely to pay that will be generated by Banca Popolare di Bari.

Always Cerved, this time together with Quaestio Holding, obtained last July the management platform for bad loans of Mps, for 105 million, plus an estimated earn-out of maximum 66 million, based on the achievement of the economic results till 2024. The agreement was reached through a strategic partnership for the special servicing activity of the upcoming securitization of NPLs for 26.1 billion euro over a total portfolio of 28.6 billion held by the bank.

Moreover, in the past few days, Credito Fondiario has won the auction for the Carige management platform, assessed around 31 billion, along with a long-term servicing contract. At the same time, Credito Fondiario bought also an NPL portfolio for 1.2 billion and the subscription to 5.4% of the capital of Carige itself (the same quota was underwritten by Sga, that now has a right of the first offer over a 200 million portfolio that will be shortly put on auction by Carige). Together with Credito Fondiario, also Lindorff-Intrum Iustitia sent its offer for the platform, but it recouped shortly after with the purchase of Caf, the Rome-based servicer owned since 2015 by the private equity fund Lone Star. In the meanwhile, Intrum bought also an NPL portfolio for 370 million that was acquired in 2015 by Lone Star from Cassa di Risparmio di Teramo. Caf has been valued around 120 million. For Lindorff-Intrum, this is the third acquisition in Italy since the one of Gextra last May, acquired from Italfondiario and its founder Francesca Carafa and that of Cross Factor in the spring of 2016.

Whereas last July, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, through the vehicle Burlington Loan Management, signed the agreement to buy 44% of Prelios Spa for 64.25 million. While in March the American fund Varde Partners acquired for 47 million 33% of the Brescia-based Guber. In February, Bain Capital Credit bought from Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank Heta Asset Resolution Italia (Harit), along with its 90 employees and an asset portfolio for 570 million gross composed mainly of repossessed properties and performing and non-performing leasing contracts.

Finally, we must note the activity carried out by Kkr. Last April, in fact, the American giant of alternative assets acquired the control of Sistemia, a Rome-based servicer that manages today secured and unsecured credits with a strong focus on real estate, previously very active on credit collection, becoming a partner of Equitalia. Sistemia had at the end of June managed assets for a value of 5.3 billion.

Things might change, with the recent arrival in Italy of Pepper Group, the Australian group operating in consumer credit and in bad loans management. The group was delisted last December from the Sidney Stock Exchange due to a Tender Offer launched by Kkr itself, with the management of Kkr reinvesting in the Pepper’s vehicle. On the other hand, the Pepper Ceo, Mike Culhane, is not new to Italy since that in the early ‘00es he invested with the fund Oakwood in Ktesios, a company specialised in salary-backed loans, that he then sold together with the interests in De Benedetti’s Cir and of Merrill Lynch. Over the years, Culhane has been very active with Pepper, registering last June 45.3 billion Australian dollars of credits and with issued loans for 8 billion, among consumer credit, mortgages for retail and commercial properties. Alfredo Goldaniga, coming from Dea Capital, has been appointed to lead the Italian branch, reporting to the London-based head of principal investments for Pepper UK, Daniele Cittadino. At the moment, Pepper is focusing in Italy in the acquisition of bad loan management mandates, but the company has also applied to Banca D’italia for the license to issue credit. This expansion strategy is different to that adopted so far in the other European countries, where the group preferred buying the already existing services rather than starting from scratches with the business. In fact, the idea here is to buy licenses and mandates. The company can rely on Kkr’s strong experience, which is already controlling in the sector Sistemia and Pillarstone Italy, the investment platform specialised in the purchase of distressed corporate credits in the portfolios of Italian banks and in corporate reorganizations. It would be easy to assume how all these activities might be gathered one day under just one operator. A very likely chance.

Source: Milano Finanza

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Intesa Sanpaolo : Joint press release on Prelios

28 December, 4 Traders

Press release on behalf of Burlington Loan Management DAC, Lavaredo S.p.A., Pirelli & C. S.p.A., Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A., UniCredit S.p.A., and Fenice S.r.l.

PRESS RELEASE

CLOSING OF THE TRANSACTION RELATING TO THE SALE AND PURCHASE OF 44.86% OF THE SHARE CAPITAL OF PRELIOS S.P.A.

Milan, 28 December 2017 – With reference to the press releases dated 26 July 2017 and 3 August 2017 relating to the share sale and purchase (the ‘Sale and Purchase Agreement’ or the ‘Agreement’), entered into among Burlington Loan Management DAC (‘Burlington’), an investment vehicle managed by Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP (‘DKCM’), on one side, and Pirelli & C. S.p.A. (‘Pirelli’), Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. (‘ISP’), UniCredit S.p.A. (‘UCI’) and Fenice S.r.l. (‘Fenice’ and, together with Pirelli, ISP, UCI, the ‘Sellers’), on the other, concerning the acquisition of no. 611.910.548 shares of Prelios S.p.A. (‘Prelios’ or the ‘Issuer’), equal to approximately 44.86% of the share capital and voting rights of the Issuer (the ‘Shareholding’), on the date hereof was completed the purchase of the Shareholding by Lavaredo S.p.A. (the ‘Offeror’ or ‘Lavaredo’), a newly incorporated joint stock company designated by Burlington pursuant to the Sale and Purchase Agreement as purchaser of the Shareholding.
The main terms and conditions of the transaction have already been communicated in the press releases dated 26 July 2017 and 3 August 2017, to which reference is made.
In particular, the purchase of the Shareholding has been completed following satisfaction of the conditions precedent to the performance of the Sale and Purchase Agreement. In this respect, it is noted, inter alia, that on 22 December 2017 Bank of Italy has authorized the indirect acquisition of the control in the share capital of Prelios SGR S.p.A. and Prelios Credit Servicing S.p.A. following completion of the acquisition of the Shareholding by Lavaredo. After the obtainment of said authorization, the parties agreed, by means of an amendment of the Sale and Purchase Agreement executed on the date hereof, to set the closing date of the acquisition on the date hereof.
It is reminded that as a result of the acquisition of the Shareholding, on the date hereof Lavaredo purchased, respectively:
(i) all no. 148,127,621 ordinary shares of Prelios owned by Pirelli, against a consideration paid in cash equal to Euro 0.116 per Prelios share and, thus, for a total of Euro 17,182,804.04;
(ii) all no. 117,752,487 ordinary shares of Prelios owned by ISP, against a consideration paid in cash equal to Euro 0.116 per Prelios share and, thus, for a total of Euro 13,659,288.49;
(iii) all no. 135,042,239 ordinary shares of Prelios owned by UCI, against a consideration paid in cash equal to Euro 0.116 per Prelios share and, thus, for a total of Euro 15,664,899.72; and
(iv) all no. 210,988,201 class B shares owned by Fenice, which, simultaneously with said transfer, have been automatically converted into no, 210,988,201 ordinary shares of Prelios pursuant to Prelios’ by-laws, against a consideration paid in cash equal to Euro 0.116 per Prelios ordinary share and, thus, for a total of Euro 24,474,631.32.
Following the completion of the acquisition of the Shareholding, Lavaredo shall launch a mandatory tender offer (the ‘Offer’) on all outstanding ordinary shares of Prelios pursuant to and for the purposes of article 106, first paragraph, of Legislative Decree 24 February 1998, no. 58, as subsequently amended and supplemented (the ‘TUF’). Therefore, on the date hereof, Lavaredo will communicate to CONSOB and the market the occurrence of the legal requirements for the launch of the Offer, by means of a communication disseminated pursuant to article 102, paragraph 1, of the TUF and to article 37, paragraph 1, of the Regulation adopted by CONSOB with resolution no. 11971 of 14 May 1999, as subsequently amended and supplemented.

Source: 4 Traders

 

Neuberger Berman acquires the shares of Fondo Italiano d’Investimento

30 November, Monitor Risparmio

The funds managed by Neuberger Berman, among which there is NB Secondary Opportunities Fund IV LP, acquired all the shares of Fondo Italiano di Investimento from da Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Nexi, Banco BPM, Banco Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna, Credito Valtellinese, Banca Popolare di Cividale, and UBI Banca.

The portfolio includes minority interests in 21 companies with an aggregate turnover of 2.3 billion euro. The management of the portfolio will be assigned to a team of 9 experts from Fondo Italiano d’ Investimento Sgr. The team will keep the usual investment approach focused on value creation over the long term in partnership with the leading entrepreneurs of various industries willing to promote development projects.

This is the second main operation in Italy for Neuberger Berman, after the acquisition of the shares portfolios of Intesa Sanpaolo in 2015. Since 2005, the Neuberger Berman private equity team has collected over 7 billion dollars destined to the secondary market.

Anthony Tutrone, managing directors and responsible for the NB Alternatives global division commented: “We’re really happy that the elements of Fondo Italiano are joining our group dedicated to private equity investments in Italy. We’re focused on closing partnerships with medium-sized companies. We believe that there are many good entrepreneurs and industry leaders in Italy, that will be able to start an internationalisation process and speed up their growth thanks to our global network and our capital”.

Neuberger Berman was assisted for the legal part by the lawyers Gianni Martoglia, Giorgio Groppi e Alessandra Ghezzi from the legal firm Gatti Pavesi Bianchi, together with Christian Neira, Neuberger Berman general consultant for the private equity division and Jagdip Gujral, associated general consultant.

Source: Monitor Risparmio

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

One billion to Italy from Dutch pensioners

01 December, Il Sole 24 Ore

The latest international investors are the Dutch pensioners to aim at Italian real estate.

The American giant Hines has concluded an agreement with Pggm, one of the main Dutch retirement funds with 206 billion managed assets, to constitute a property fund, Milan Green Fund, that will invest one billion euro in the Italian market. The fund, aiming at an average income of 4-5%, starts with a quotation of 155 million euro and it will develop buildings for mixed-purpose, offices and high street spaces. The objective is to invest in already existing, iconic, buildings to renovate in an energy-sustainable way.

The destination of the investments are the main Italian cities, but Milan will be the main highlight. Here, 1.9-billion-euro international capitals have landed since the beginning of 2017 (on a total of three billion), while on the whole territory the international investors have invested 5.9 billion (8.3 billion are the volumes since January 2017).

Hence, the fund has concluded its first operation in the city centre, in the old town, buying for 110 million euro three properties – 20 thousand Sq m altogether – from Banco Bpm. To the numbers of the deal, we must add 30 million for the total renovation of the buildings that will be reconverted for business and retail purposes. The assets of the portfolio are the ten-storey tower in Liberty Square, facing the Apple Store opening soon, a building in Via Lauro – opposite to the future W Hotel – and one in Via Mazzini. The requalification projects of the nearby areas might start from these properties. Hines, assisted by Vitale & Co estate as the financial advisor, might already be studying the possibility to relaunch the De Cristoforis Gallery and to renovate Via Mazzini, working together with the property owners of the area.

Hines, guided by Mario Abbadessa, the Italy Country Manager, has accumulated over the last two years in the country a portfolio for a value of one billion divided between nine investments in total, betting on the potential of Milan. In fact, among the most important operations, there is the one concerning the building in Piazza Cordusio, where, in spring 2019, the fast-fashion brand Uniqlo will open its store, as well as the acquisition of the former Luxottica headquarters in Via Cantù, a few kilometres from Piazza Cordusio. At the end of 2016, Hines acquired for 22 million euro the former offices of Banca di Roma in Piazza Edison. Always in Milan, the company bought the building accommodating the London Stock Exchange, as well as the Dla Piper offices.

The group founded by Gerald Hines manages real estate assets for 93.2 billion dollars and it’s present in 192 cities of 20 different countries. Hines has currently a portfolio of 483 properties worldwide on a total surface of 199 million Sq m.

By the end of the year, the American group might close in Italy also some operations in the student housing segment, the next frontier of real estate.

Source: Il Sole 24 Ore

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Aedes buys two towers from the fund Obelisco

29 November, La Stampa

Aedes Siiq has signed the preliminary contract for the purchase from the property fund Obelisco, managed by InvestiRe Sgr, of two skyscrapers in Via Richard in Milan. The two towers C3 and E5 extend on approximately 15 thousand Sq m and they’ll be renovated. The investment, considering also the purchase price and the renovation expenses, will amount to 35 million.

The deed will be signed by the end of the year. The negotiation regarding the rent with a big company has already started for one of the two towers. This operation is included in the strategy of increasing the real estate portfolio for rental in the residential and office segments in Milan and Rome.

Source: La Stampa

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Npl, Unicredit sells other 715 million

28 November, Milano Finanza

Unicredit is going at full speed in the sale of bad loans. While the Fino project is entering the securitisation phase, yesterday the bank guided by Jean Pierre Mustier sold a 715 million portfolio, bringing to 19 billion the gross sold amount in 2017. The portfolio (assisted by the legal firm Freshfields), called Firenze, is composed mainly of unsecured loans plus a small secured component. This dual nature allowed Unicredit to segment the stock to maximize the price: MB Credit Solution (the company of the group Mediobanca guided by Francesco Barelli Terrizzi) bought the unsecured portion of the portfolio for a gross exposure of 450 million while the American fund Cerberus bought the secured part for 265 million. “The impact of the transfer”, explains Unicredit on a memo (the NPL division of the bank is managed by the chief risk officer TJ Lim), “which is part of the current strategy of reducing the impaired exposures, will be registered in the fourth quarter of 2017 statement”. Firenze, therefore, joins Fino, the project launched last year to get rid of 17.7 billion bad loans and gone to Fortress and Pimco. This week the securitisation process has started with the State guarantee. On Wednesday, both Dbrs and Moody’s assigned their definitive rating on class A, B and C instruments issued by the vehicle companies, while the class D instruments will stay with no rating. The operation has been assisted by doBank, the Fortress subsidiary that has underwritten with Unicredit master and special servicing contracts, crucial for the success of the operation.

More generally, these last few weeks of the year are very dynamic with operations on non-performing loans. With two important transfers concluded in 2017, Rev Gestione Crediti is preparing for a securitisation with the public guarantee of a gross amount of 1.5 billion that will be supervised by JP Morgan and Kpmg. While Banco Bpm is closing the transfer of the portfolio Sun for 2 billion, composed exclusively of unsecured loans.  Whereas for next year, the bank headed by Giuseppe Castagna plans a Gacs for about 3 billion for which the due diligence works have already started under the supervision of Prelios. Unicredit too should sell shortly the portfolio Firenze, a stock of almost one billion that follows the sale of Fino for 17.7 billion. In the cooperative credit world, there are a couple of operations of consortium nature, one coordinated by Cassa Centrale and another by Iccrea to disinvest over one billion of bad loans.

There is no doubt, however, that the most awaited operation of 2018 will be the securitisation of 26 billion that Mps is launching. The divestiture of the stock should happen by the end of the year and it will conclude in June as agreed with the ECB. There are also other four/five banks studying the option of securitisation through Gacs whose operations might be announced in the following months.

Source: Milano Finanza

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi

Goldman Sachs and Finint, purchase of NPL for 483 million from Hypo Bank

06 November, First Online

The group Finint communicated that the first operation was finalised, with Goldman Sachs in the role of investor, concerning the transfer of a leasing portfolio with the consequent transfer of the underlying contracts and assets. The portfolio, sold to Hypo Bank, concerns 1,860 positions for an amount in terms of Gbv equal to 483 million euro of performing credits at the date of reference.

This is a pioneering operation, explains the memo from the Conegliano-based financial company, implemented according to a scheme introduced by the Law 130/99 on securitisations approved last June. The law sees the transfer, from one side, of a credit portfolio to a company for the securitisation and, on the other side, the transfer of the related contracts and underlying assets to an ad hoc company (LeasingCo) of the same group of the bank.

The operation is structured in a way that it allows the appreciation of the guarantees of the credits represented by the assets, explains the memo from Finint. Moreover, it introduces, for the first time in Italy, the great opportunity for seller and investor to solve the problem related to the transfer of performing and non-performing loans for leasing contracts.

This sector has been left out from the transfer operations in the recent years due to the difficulties related to the transfer of contracts and the underlying assets that, in absence of an efficient structure, had to stay under the ownership of the leasing company. This latter represents a considerable source of funding for Italian SMEs. Now, leasing companies have an instrument to disinvest impaired assets and not only.

The operation has seen involved Goldman Sachs in the role of investor and the group Finint, for which Securitisation Services has intervened in the role of securitisation servicers and in the implementation of the company and of LeasingCo, Agenzia Italia in the role of primary servicer, appointed for the management of credits, contracts and assets, and Finint Revalue in the role of special servicer for the credit collection activity, as well as Banca Finint in the roles of account bank and principal paying agent in the securitisation.

“We’re very happy to have concluded, in partnership with Goldman Sachs, a pioneering operation in the leasing sector – states Finint president, Enrico Marchi – The evolution in the securitisation of leasing credits in Italy has been growing since 2016 and the new regulation offers many advantages, both for the leasing company, that finds in securitisation an important source of funding, and for investors, who can benefit from a finer granularity  and more diversity in terms of geographic areas and sectors of the underlying portfolios”.

Source: First Online

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi