Spanish plywood board producer Grupo Garnica has secured a €272 million debt package to refinance its existing debt from ICG’s acquisition in 2016.
Sources told Reorg the new debt includes:
- A seven-year bifurcated €180 million term loan B with a blended margin between E+5%-6%;
- A six-year €47 million term loan A;
- A six-year maturity €25 million RCF; and
- A six-year €20 million acquisition capital expenditure facility.
The combined term loan A and term loan B was leveraged at below 4x, sources said. The ICG-backed company was marketed off pro forma EBITDA of about €60 million in 2022, sources said.
Lenders of the new facilities include Spanish debt funds Tresmares, Oquendo and Alantra, alongside International fund Amundi. Bank lenders include ING, Santander, Sabadell, CaixaBank, Deutsche Bank and Caja Rural, sources said. ING is acting as the global coordinator and bookrunner while Santander is bookrunner, they added. The transaction was signed at the end of July.
Marlborough Partners ran the process, as
reported. The group forecasts a turnover of €350 million in 2022. The sponsor was previously working with William Blair to sell the company but
pulled the auction as energy and raw materials prices began to soar.
Western
sanctions were imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The restriction on wood imports from Belarus and Russia increased domestic demand, causing a rise in raw materials prices. The EU Council
banned the import of Russian wood into the bloc. As of April 11, European market
prices for certain timber products went up 35%.
Grupo Garnica had benefited from its local plantations of pine and eucalyptus mostly located in Spain and France and had constructed its seventh factory, in France, according to a
statement last year.
ICG acquired Garnica from Qualitas Venture Capital in 2016. At the time, the company secured a €65 million syndicated financing and a €170 million mezzanine loan provided by ICG to refinance its existing debt and finance its expansion plans, according to its 2020 financial report, the latest
filed by the company.
Garnica was founded in 1941 as a family-owned business and has its headquarters in La Rioja. The group operates in 45 countries and employs 1,200 people.
-- Lucía Camblor