CDP, MCC and Sella Basket Bond: new €20 million tranche for Italian Mid-Caps and SMEs

Summary

The minibonds support the national and international investment and development plans of A+B Industrial Tools Company and Boffetti, as part of a €200 million programme

For this operation, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Mediocredito Centrale acted as anchor investors and Sella Investment Banking as arranger

Finance the growth projects of small and medium-sized companies, facilitate their access to capital markets, support their competitiveness both in Italy and abroad and promote their development in the field of ESG. These are the objectives of the three-year €200 million basket bond programme launched in 2021 and extended in 2023 by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Mediocredito Centrale (MCC) and Sella, which, thanks to the latest tranche worth €20 million, has to date supported a total of ten companies operating in different sectors of the Italian economy with a value of €88.5 million in subscribed minibonds.

Specifically, the new issue concerns two companies: A+B Industrial Tools Company (a leading group in the production and sale of tools for mechanical processing) and Boffetti (a company specialised in technological electrical systems), which issued two six-year minibonds to support their investment plans in Italy and abroad.

CDP and MCC both participated as anchor investors, each supporting the project through the subscription of 40% of the securities issued by a special purpose vehicle (SPV), while Banca Sella subscribed the remaining 20%.

Both bond issues have a sustainability-linked structure, which provides for the identification and monitoring of specific ESG KPIs aimed at assessing the alignment of investment projects with certain sustainable development goals, thus ensuring a precise assessment of the actual ESG impact achieved. When these targets are reached, the interest rate applied to the instrument is stepped down.

The operation was promoted by Sella Investment Banking, the division of Sella specialised in extraordinary finance transactions, which acted as arranger and financial advisor to the issuing companies. Gardant acted as servicer, corporate servicer, monitoring agent and other related roles, while the Chiomenti law firm acted as deal counsel. Cerved Rating Agency issued a Second-Party Opinion on the alignment of the sustainability KPIs identified, consistent with the principles and guidelines of ICMA (International Capital Market Association).

Details of the operation
A+B Industrial Tools Company competes in the market for machining tools and instruments through its equity investments in 14 companies specialising in the production and distribution of products used within three metres from the machine tool. The company issued a €12 million six-year minibond to support a plan to acquire Italian and foreign companies in order to strengthen the group's national and international reach.
Boffetti, a company based in Calusco D'Adda, is a leader in the electrical engineering and technology market, designing and building high-, medium- and low-voltage electrical systems and networks for utilities, factories and infrastructure. The €8 million minibond with a maturity of six years is intended to support specific capital investments in support of its multi-year backlog with major customers.