Cobepa in control of Willow. The Belgian private equity firm – with a net asset value of approximately 4,2 billion euro – has acquired a majority stake in Salice, a Brianza-based company active in the design and production of opening systems for furnishings. The owners Francesco, Massimo and Sergio Salice, the third generation at the helm of the company, who will remain minority shareholders and, to ensure managerial and operational continuity, will maintain their current roles within the company.
“This operation represents a significant turning point in the history of Salice. We are convinced that this new phase of development which begins today will offer the widest opportunities for growth not only for the company, but also for all the employees of the Group - declare Francesca, Massimo and Sergio Salice, adding: "We have chosen Cobepa as the new partner because we believe they share our same values. Cobepa has a solid reputation for accelerating the development of companies by leveraging their human capital and skills, while stimulating the potential and entrepreneurial spirit of the management teams it works with”.
Willow and Cobepa
Present on the market since 1926, in 2021 Salice generated a consolidated turnover of 200 million euros, is present in 90 countries around the world and the Italian market represents 23% of its turnover, but the area of United States (with about 30%) followed by China (13%) and other European markets such as Germany (8%) and France (4%). Major clients include well-known companies in the design sector, such as Giorgetti, Fendi Casa, Arclinea, Veneta Cucine, Scavolini and B&B Italia.
Banks and advisors
The operation was financed by a pool of banks made up of Unicredit, Natixis, Credit Agriculture, Understanding St. Paul e Deutsche Banks as mandated lead arranger and bookrunner. UniCredit acts as agent and security agent.
Salice partners were assisted by Equita K Finance (Clairfield Italy), part of Equita Group, as financial advisor. On the legal and fiscal side, the sellers were supported by law firms Sarzi Sartori and Cennaas well as by the tax office Ronda and Associates.
cpmg he oversaw the part of the accounting and tax vendor due diligence, while Tauw Italy performed the ehs vendor due diligence.
Finally, Houlihan Lokey assisted the buyer in structuring the loan.
