“The success of the Minibond. projects the Apulian production system onto new financial markets” says the Governor of the Puglia Region, Michele Emiliano. With the latest issues, the number of companies that have used the opportunity offered by the Puglia Region has risen to 27 by issuing bond loans for a total value of 111 million euros, over a two-year period. It is an advanced financial instrument that the regional production system is making full use of, despite an unfavorable economic situation due to the pandemic and the war in the heart of Europe.
These firms invest in assets of development and expansion and increase their productivity and competitiveness even in the most innovative sectors. All this is made possible by the integrated activity of the Puglia Region, Puglia Sviluppo, UniCredit, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Mediocredito Centrale which have continued to support the development of businesses in one of the most complicated two-year periods in recent history.
The investments foreseen in the last two issues concern different sectors: human health, fashion, agri-food, mechanics, mechatronics and commerce. They range from research to the manufacture of electromedical and electrotherapeutic instruments, from footwear to the production of meals and ready meals, from the rental of aerial platforms to industrial casting and molding of cast iron. Six issuing companies for a total value of approximately 24 million euro: Alpha Pharma Service of Bitonto (Ba); Calzaturificio Emmegiemme Shoes of Surano (Le) which also has plants abroad; Lofrese of Gravina in Puglia (Ba); Werent of Martina Franca (Ta); Degigross Srl, of Policoro (Mt); Foundries Orazio and Fortunato De Riccardis of Soleto (Le).
I Minibond. bonds (or basket bonds) allow companies to finance extraordinary operations, investments and working capital to better face the challenges of the digital and energy transition. The innovative finance tool, wanted by the Puglia Region, is created by Puglia Sviluppo in collaboration with UniCredit (as arranger).
Basically, securities backed by a portfolio guarantee are issued Puglia Development equal to 25% of the total amount of securities issued. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Mediocredito Centrale act as institutional investors, financially supporting the project and have also subscribed 95% of the total amount in these issues, the remainder being subscribed instead by UniCredit, originator of the securitization as well as arranger. The regional resources, amounting to 40 million euros, used by Puglia Sviluppo as a portfolio guarantee, will make it possible to develop at least 160 million in new finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The success of such an innovative measure – said the president of the Puglia Region Michele Emiliano – in a very complicated two-year period, he projects Puglia onto new financial markets. The production system has not given up and, despite the difficulties, has managed to grow. Some of the companies financed with Minibonds and other regional instruments now have offices in the United States as well as in Puglia. Regional policies have had the advantage of accompanying this process, transforming the ideas born in Puglia into international brands. The capital market is offering Puglia an edge and we will continue to fuel this process also thanks to the resources made available by the European Union in the new 2021-2027 programming cycle". “The launch of Minibonds by the Puglia Region – added the Councilor for Economic Development of the Puglia Region Alessandro Delli Noci – represented a challenge for the Apulian production system. The result was by no means obvious. Today we have reached a value of bonds issued equal to 111 million. The Puglia Region has implemented a development strategy by integrating complex financial instruments with other forms of facilitation. Thus we have accompanied startups in their growth process and supported companies throughout their development path, along the lines of innovation, internationalization and sustainability. This alliance between public and private has made our territory grow and today represents one of the major success factors on which the Puglia system can count on for the future".
“With these latest issues – underlined the president of Puglia Sviluppo Grazia D'Alonzo – we reach 70 per cent of the target of 160 million euro of new finance for SMEs, which we had foreseen. Questions about this tool keep coming despite the difficult context we are experiencing. It happens because the Apulian Minibonds are extremely competitive thanks to the regional resources put in place, with advantageous interest rates even today that the financial markets have seen significant increases in the cost of credit. Our small and medium-sized enterprises have shown that they know how to interpret and seize the advantages of innovative finance and the great return in terms of credibility and reputation that this is able to generate". "UniCredit has established itself as a leader in the mini-bond market for SMEs also thanks to initiatives such as the basket bond of the Puglia Region - he said Remo Taricani, deputy head of UniCredit Italy. With this issue we reach a significant milestone within this instrument which allows us to mobilize important resources, complementary to bank credit, to support the investment projects of local businesses and to support them in the current, complex phase of the economy".
Andrea Nuzzi, Head of Enterprises and Financial Institutions of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, he declared – “Exceeding the 100 million threshold is a clear sign of the effectiveness of the Puglia basket bond program and, more generally, of alternative finance instruments. An ever-growing number of companies is in fact choosing alternative financing channels to the traditional ones to support investments and growth projects. With these latest transactions, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti also confirms its leadership role in the basket bond market and its support for companies in the South, generating a tangible positive impact on the territory".
“The South – he declared Maurizio Barnabè, Corporate Manager of Mediocredito Centrale – is more affected by the difficulties of the current economic situation given its previous weaknesses and for this reason it needs innovative tools, also in the financial field, capable of strengthening its growth trajectories. Mediocredito Centrale, as an institutional investor, participates with conviction in Basket Bond Puglia precisely because it is an exemplary case of financial innovation capable of supporting truly sustainable development for Southern SMEs and of providing a stimulus to companies to increase own financial culture through the use of non-traditional instruments”.
Business projects
Alpha Pharma Service S.r.l of Bitonto (BA) is among the leading Italian companies in monitoring and
teleassistance and has acquired a place of respect in the landscape of predictive medicine and
precision. With a Minibond worth 6,35 million euro, correlated with a PIA project, the company offers a fully automated system capable of communicating with all systems
business and a research project to study telemedicine services and medical devices for care
innovative diabetes and vitamin D screening in frail patients.
Emmegiemme Shoes Srl shoe factory produces in Surano (Le) high quality footwear for men and
woman, with high specialization in the sneaker segment. The production capacity of the only
Salento plant is around 350 thousand pairs per year. Two other plants are in Romania
and Bulgaria. The 2,15 million euro Minibond will be used to invest in the acquisition and completion
of a new factory in the industrial area of Surano and in the development of the corporate brand.
Lofrese Spa, an agri-food company in Gravina in Puglia (Ba), produces legumes of various types:
dried, cooked, organic, mixed with cereals but also ancient legumes of the peasant tradition.
The investment, with a 3,2 million euro Minibond, involves the construction of a new one
production unit in Gravina in Puglia to produce non-frozen ready meals with a high value
healthy. The project will be developed with the support of the University of Bari.
Werent Srl, a company from Martina Franca (Ta), is among the leaders in Italy in the rental, sale and
assistance for lifting and earthmoving equipment. The initiative, to be implemented with a Minibond
from 4,3 million euros, provides for the opening of a new production unit in the municipality of Statte (Ta),
with the purchase of the property, various aerial platforms and accessories for the machinery.
Degigross Srl, a company from Policoro (Mt) deals with the wholesale trade of foodstuffs and
not and the management of Cash & Carry outlets. The investment, thanks to a 2,5 Minibond
million euros, will allow the opening of new points of sale in Puglia and in particular in Massafra
(Ta), in Bari and in Castellana Grotte (Ba). Adjustments will be made and systems, furnishings,
equipment and goods.
Foundries Orazio and Fortunato De Riccardis Srl of Soleto (Le), has been operating for over fifty years in the
field of the production of cast iron castings for mechanical applications, with a strong orientation
towards productions with a high technological content. The 5,3 million euro Minibond will allow
renew the production cycle by introducing latest generation electric ovens that will be
supported by a new photovoltaic system. A new supply system will also be activated
of raw materials.
How the Minibond tool works
To access the Minibonds of the Puglia Region, the company concerned must present the question of
candidacy Puglia Sviluppo which checks the requirements, the investment plan, carries out other checks and, if the outcome is positive, communicates it to the arranger, i.e. the financial operator who has the task of structuring and placing the Minibond portfolio. The arranger, selected in 2019, is UniCredit.
UniCredit, in collaboration with institutional investors represented by Cassa Depositi e
Loans and Mediocredito Centrale, carries out the merit analysis on both the company and the investment and,
it then defines the overall portfolio of eligible companies. The arranger subscribes
the entire debenture loan and subsequently, through a vehicle company (Spv),
proceeds with the placement of the Minibonds (through a securitization operation) with the
institutional and professional investors. The companies therefore receive from 2 to 10 million euros a
depending on the amount of the Minibond issued and can invest in tangible or intangible assets, but
also obtain support for the working capital linked to the investment to be made.
