MAWEEKLY · 28 de octubre de 2024

Week 43 (2024) in M&A and Private Equity 🛰️🇪🇸

Weekly collection of transactions (October 21 - 27)

• Kutxabank has acquired a 70% stake in the Bilbao-based private equity firm Talde. The bank plans to sell 7% of this new subsidiary to Talde’s management team in a later phase, allowing them to maintain leadership and align closely with Kutxabank’s investment objectives. In 1976, a group of Basque entrepreneurs and financial entities founded Talde. Following the enactment of Spain’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Law, Talde Gestión was established, becoming one of Spain’s pioneering private equity managers. The firm played a key role in shaping the private capital sector in Spain.1

• Portobello Capital has partnered with Clínicas Mi acquiring a minority stake to drive its expansion through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. With the goal of doubling its revenue and reaching 100 million euros in a few years, the Catalan hospital group will continue to grow with Portobello’s support. This marks the eighth investment by the minority fund. 2

• I Squared, a leading independent global infrastructure investment manager, announced that it has acquired the remaining 55% stake in Tepsa –a key player in the storage of bulk liquid and gas in France, Spain and the Northern European hubs of Antwerp and Rotterdam– from Rubis SCA, a French energy company. I Squared has been a shareholder in Tepsa, formerly known as Rubis Terminal, since 2020, when it acquired an initial 45% stake. 3

• Curium, a pharmaceutical company specializing in nuclear medicine, has acquired the Instituto de Radiofarmacia Aplicada de Barcelona (IRAB). This acquisition allows Curium to establish a presence in Catalonia, one of the few regions in Spain where it was not previously active. Curium now operates 27 centers across Spain, with four in Madrid and eleven in Andalusia. IRAB focuses on the development, production, and commercialization of PET radiopharmaceuticals. Besides Curium, Novartis is the other major company in nuclear medicine in Spain, with three centers, including a new one under construction in Castilla y León. 4

• As part of its Expansion Plan and strengthening its commitment to Andalusia, Bunzl Spain has acquired the company Comercial Cermerón SL in Málaga, the leading local reference in B2B distribution of Hygiene and Cleaning products. With a turnover of 14 million euros in 2023 and a current workforce of 50 employees, Cermerón represents a significant step in the strategic growth of Bunzl Distribution Spain. The company offers a portfolio of over 4,300 products to a client base of 3,000 customers, providing specialized technical support (SAT), its own transport fleet, and a 4,000-square-meter facility in Málaga’s capital—a strategic location for national distribution operations. 5

• Ramon Eixarch, CEO and co-founder of the tech firm Wiris, has assumed full ownership of the company by acquiring shares from venture capital funds Inveready and Athos Capital, which had joined the project seven years ago during a U.S. acquisition. This shareholder transition solidifies Eixarch’s leadership and control over Wiris. 6

• Planning Sisplamo has acquired Mobles 114, a renowned Barcelona-based design furniture brand. This marks a new chapter for Mobles 114, now part of Planning Sisplamo, a Catalan manufacturer of office accessories, which has fully purchased the business. This acquisition blends Mobles 114’s iconic design heritage with Planning Sisplamo’s expertise in office solutions, strengthening both companies’ positions in the design and furniture sectors. 7

• Spanish-listed company Virtualware (EPA:MLVIR), a provider of cutting-edge extended reality (XR) technologies and real-time 3D enterprise solutions, has agreed to acquire Swedish corporation Simumatik AB. The transaction will allow Virtualware to fully integrate Simumatik’s capacities and crew, accelerating its position in the real-time 3D enterprise software industry. It is also in line with Virtualware’s 2024-2026 Strategic Plan. 8

• Grup Cañigueral, a Catalan meat company known for its Costa Brava Mediterranean Foods brand, is expanding into Central Europe by acquiring a minority stake in a Polish company with a production plant in Szczecin. This move marks the company’s first entry into Central European markets, supporting its international growth strategy. 9

• Isagri Group, specializing in IT solutions for agriculture, livestock, and wineries, has acquired Spain’s Top 1 Nuevas Tecnologías and its Bacosoft software. This strategic acquisition, led by Isagri’s Spanish subsidiary, strengthens Isagri’s leadership in the Spanish wine sector, particularly in legal and regulatory management for wineries. By integrating Bacosoft’s platform, which serves nearly 30% of Spanish wineries, Isagri aims to offer a comprehensive digital management solution, enhancing traceability, compliance, and productivity for its clients across various regional regulations. 10

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I am a Partner at Albia IMAP. IMAP is an International Mergers and Acquisitions Partnership with a 50-year track record, more than 450 M&A professionals worldwide and a presence in 50 countries. IMAP has closed over 2,200 transactions valcued at $130bn in the last 10 years and is consistently ranked in the world’s Top 10 M&A advisors (Refinitiv) for mid-market transactions.