In recent days, Lillo Spa, today the second national operator in the discount sector with entirely Italian capital with the MD brand, has completed the acquisition process of 100% of the business branch of the Lombardini Group that owns the LD Market brand, which began on 24 July with the signing of the preliminary purchase contract.
The operation was completed thanks to the support of a pool of banks made up of Bnl/Bnp Paribas, Monte dei Paschi di Siena and Unicredit which, in equal shares and as Underwriters, Bookrunners and Mandated Lead Arrangers, structured a financing of 185 million euros.
The lines of credit, both revolving (10 million euros) and amortizing (175 million euros) and with a duration of 5 years, are intended both to finance the acquisition and to refinance the existing debt of Lillo Spa . The union of two entrepreneurial realities such as MD and LD Market will lead to the birth of a player of national importance in the discount segment of large-scale distribution.
At the end of the integration process, a Group will be created representing a 15% share of the national reference market, 720 branches located throughout the country and 4.250 employees; the estimated turnover for the new entity at the end of 2013 is 2 billion euros.
Patrizio Podini, President of Md Discount declares: "The success of this extraordinary operation was made possible by the support and professionalism of an attentive work group". The parties involved in the transaction made use of the advice of various law and consultancy firms: Studio Scozzi of Trento, Studio Valli and Mancuso of Rome, PWC Pricewaterhouse Coopers Advisory SpA of Milan, Studio Sindaco of Naples, Studio Zulli Tabanelli e associati of Brescia and Studio Caffi Maroncelli and Associates of Bergamo. The financial documentation was prepared by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, in support of the banks, and by Bonelli Erede Pappalardo, in support of Lillo.
