Solution Bank, which is owned by SC Lowy, and Banca Privata Leasing are in talks to provide €20 million super senior bridge financing to the Italian engineering group as part of its
concordato, sources told Reorg. The two institutions would disburse €10 million each and the facility would carry an interest rate in the high single digits, sources added.
As
reported, the €20 million bridge financing could be repaid at the sign-off of the company’s
concordato by its ad hoc bondholder group which, at that time, will become Officine’s main shareholder, sources said. Officine Maccaferri has yet to submit the latest version of its restructuring plan to the Bologna court.
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The Bologna Court has
rejected two previous versions of a €40 million super senior bridge loan for Officine Maccaferri, which initially had to be provided by the company’s ad hoc bondholder group. The court cited high costs, a series of guarantees on other companies owned by holdco SECI, and potential conflicts of interest that might have penalized other creditors outside the ad hoc group among the main reasons to reject the financing. The concerns followed those
expressed by the court in July 2020 over some aspects of the security package of the super senior loan as well as over the company’s advisors’ fees.
Officine’s
concordato proposal should be similar to the one outlined in March 2020. The original restructuring plan
envisaged noteholders receiving new notes issued by the company at an approximate 70% discount to their current holdings as well as a minority equity stake in the business. Alternatively, according to the March plan, they could receive cash on a substantially discounted (about 90%) basis.
Today, the majority of Officine Maccaferri’s bondholders approved the company’s proposal to amend the indenture of its 2021 notes, according to a
release. The proposed amendments would modify the note guarantees to become due and payable on demand. Such a demand may be issued only by the trustee upon instructions by holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the notes then outstanding. The proposed changes can be found on page 17 of the consent solicitation
statement.
The company’s ad hoc bondholder group holds the majority of Maccaferri’s 5.75% 2021 notes and consists of Carlyle, GLG and Stellex Capital Management. It is advised by DC Advisory, Delfino & Associati, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Milbank.
As
reported last week, holding company SECI transferred all shares of its subsidiary Officine Maccaferri to Stellex Capital Holdings. In turn, Stellex transferred the shares to a trustee, which, per the instructions of the Tribunal of Bologna, will retain them until the end of the company’s restructuring procedure. Officine’s shares were previously awarded to Stellex Capital Holdings Luxembourg in a competitive auction for up to €9.3 million.
SC Lowy
bought the majority of Agriholding’s €30 million equity-like instruments, or
strumenti finanziari partecipativi (SFP), at a discount, as reported. Agriholding is a subsidiary of SECI Energia, which is one of the companies of SECI, the holding group of Officine Maccaferri.