MAWEEKLY · 4 de enero de 2024

2023 recap in M&A and Private Equity 🛰️🇪🇸

Top transactions of the year in Spain

Happy New Year! 🎉

Below you will find a selection of transactions from the year 2023 in Spain. Throughout this year, week by week, I have highlighted more than 450. There have been many more. In any case, the ones highlighted throughout the year certainly represent 80% of the announced transactions and undoubtedly the most relevant ones in the middle market.

As the goal of this newsletter is to be brief, I have limited myself to selecting 10 transactions that, due to their volume, history, or the players involved, deserve to be highlighted. Others just as interesting have been left out. If you want to delve deeper, in the coming days I will leave links to the usual deep dive we do at Empresax, as well as to the year-end summary podcast. Quick overview: a lot of agro and energy transition, as well as international private equity firms and secondaries.

On the other hand, and as the objective is not self-promotion, I have not included any of the 10 transactions that we have closed at IMAP Spain this year, but I invite you to visit our website for more information and see how we did one year after the merger. Of course, as always, I am delighted to chat.

• GED Capital and Grupo Hervaz, owned by the Vázquez Gavira family, have agreed to sell their stake in Procubitos Europe to Magnum Capital. The deal sees GED Capital fully divest its position in Procubitos Europe, while Grupo Hervaz retains a minority stake, partnering with Magnum for the company’s next growth phase. Procubitos Europe, a leading ice manufacturer in several European countries, has experienced significant growth, particularly in Germany, and its international markets account for about 50% of its total revenue.1

• Cinven, an international private equity firm, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Amara NZero from ProA Capital. Amara NZero, based in Madrid, is a key player in the energy transition market. The company’s expertise lies in distributing products and services for sustainable energy, covering renewables, electrification, and energy transition services. 2

• Solum Partners, a U.S.-based private equity fund financed by Harvard University, has agreed to acquire Greentastic, a Spanish agriculture group controlled by Magnum Capital, for an amount between €250 and €300 million. Solum Partners is focused on investments in agro and the food industry. Greentastic, previously controlled by Magnum Capital, emerged from the initial acquisition of Agrupapulpí in Almería and further acquisitions in the region of Murcia (Amaco and Navteg). 3

• Bridgepoint, an international private equity firm, has acquired a majority stake in Windar Renovables, a global manufacturer of wind turbine towers and foundations. 4

• Martínez Nieto S.A., a Spanish laboratory specializing in nutritional supplements and natural cosmetics, has reached an agreement with the local private equity firm Magnum Capital. This partnership aims to reinforce the company’s growth and expansion. The Martínez Nieto family, founders of the company, will continue to be involved in the business. Martínez Nieto S.A. is known for its more than 400 nutraceutical and cosmetic products and operates from a highly advanced production facility in Los Camachos (Cartagena), exporting to around 70 countries worldwide. 5

• International private equity firm Cinven has agreed to sell Planasa to strategic buyer EW Group, a German family owned international group, with key businesses in genetics, health, diagnostics, nutrition and food. Headquartered in Navarra, Spain, Planasa specialises in R&D for the breeding of next-generation berry varieties, including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. 6

• The Rafa Nadal Academy, launched in 2016 in Mallorca, Spain, has announced a partnership with GPF, a private equity investment firm, to accelerate its international expansion. This strategic alliance is in line with Rafa Nadal’s vision of promoting sports and education globally. 7

• AnaCap, after acquiring Gestión Tributaria Territorial (GTT) from GED Capital in 2020, has now agreed to sell its majority stake to Stirling Square. This sale is backed by Ardian’s financing package. GTT expanded into Latin America and grew its revenue by 70%. Despite selling the majority, AnaCap retains a 20% interest, supporting GTT’s ongoing growth in key markets like Spain and Latin America. 8

• Apax and Fremman Capital have reached an agreement to jointly acquire co-controlling stakes in Palex Medical, a leading provider of medical technology solutions in Southern Europe. Palex is renowned for its distribution of MedTech equipment and solutions, catering to public and private hospitals and laboratories in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. The deal will see Apax and Fremman collaborate with Palex’s management team to drive future growth and international expansion. Fremman joined Palex in December 2021. 9

• The Chinese pharmaceutical company Worg Pharmaceuticals has acquired Diater from Nazca Capital. Worg is specialized, like Diater, in the treatment of allergies with immunotherapy. Nazca acquired Diater from Grupo Ferrer in 2019. The company had a turnover of 23 million and recorded an EBITDA of 8 million during 2022. According to different sources the Chinese company paid ~ 150 million euros. 10

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I am a Partner at IMAP Albia Capital. 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 41 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.

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