MILAN – Following a host of rumours and speculations, Massimo Zanetti, president of the Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, confirmed the sale of a 50% stake of the business to Italian private equity investor QuattroR in an interview with the Corriere della Sera daily.
“QuattroR will designate the CEO in the person of Pierluigi Tosato, while I will stay as Chairman of the Board. At the end of this experience, the family will keep the property of the Group and we will go public again, but not in Italy.
We have operations across the world and this so we are thinking of listing in New York or Singapore.”
After a capital increase of €90 million, QuattroR will hold the majority of voting rights. The new investor will remain in the capital for 3-4 years and quit with the new listing.
For some time, the group had been looking for a private equity investor to help it rebalance its financial situation.
The company is currently burdened by a debt of approximately 350 million euros, primarily owned to Unicredit, BNL, and Intesa Sanpaolo.
A prior recapitalization undertaken by Zanetti with his own funds, for a total of €50 million, had not been deemed sufficient by the financial institutions.
The company’s finances were affected by prolonged closures of stores around the world due to restrictions caused by the pandemic, says Zanetti. This was made worse by the steep increase in coffee prices and the consequent need of fresh capital.
A settlement with creditors, which is a prerequisite for concluding the agreement with QuattroR, is expected within this week or, in any case, by the end of December.
An agreement with creditors, necessary condition to close the contract with QuattroR, it is expected next week or, in any case, by December.
In any case, Zanetti assures again, the company will not be sold: “It is clear that by remaining with 50% my commitment will be diluted but, after all, I am 75 years old. Then if my children will have intention to follow the same path, great. Otherwise they will decide how to act.”
The road seems already to be going downhill, or at least to be much less difficult than in the recent past.
“The companies in this sector are all recovering. We will close 2023 with a turnover higher than last year’s record (the aggregate, together with 290 million of the green coffee company Cofiroasters, had reached 1.5 billion) and an Ebitda of 48 million. It’s a shame to have to turn to external partners right now, but the banks’ position must be understood.”
