Houlihan Lokey Advises Burgo Group

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that leading paper manufacturer Burgo Group S.p.A. (Burgo) has strengthened its capital structure through a reserved cash capital increase, entirely financed by QuattroR SGR S.p.A. (QuattroR), and an approximately €1 billion refinancing of its banking exposure and equity-linked instruments, thus achieving a full transformation of its stakeholder base and continuing the successful progression towards its strategic plan objectives. The transaction closed on 30 October 2020.

Burgo is one of the leading European producers of graphic and specialty papers and containerboard—with 11 manufacturing plants and a yearly production of approximately 2.1 million tons—engaged in the production and distribution of a wide range of papers with a focus on the European market. The company is a fully integrated player within the paper industry—from the production, distribution, and recycling of paper to the processing of forest products, as well as factoring and energy generation activities. Led by Chairman Alberto Marchi and CEO Ignazio Capuano, Burgo employs roughly 3,400 employees and generated c. €1.7 billion revenues and €135 million EBITDA in 2019.

QuattroR is a management company, launched in 2017 and controlled by its management, that manages a fund of more than €700 million and targets Italian companies with solid business fundamentals (despite temporary financial distress) with a flexible investment approach, encompassing the entire spectrum of equity, equity-like, and debt instruments. The fund aims to strengthen and relaunch these companies by i) providing adequate financial and managerial resources to overcome these temporary difficulties and support the development and ii) through potential build-up processes. Limited partners of the fund are prominent Italian institutional investors.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Burgo, assisting the transaction end to end from origination, financial structuring, and negotiation with multiple counterparties. This deal confirms Houlihan Lokey’s long-standing relationship with Burgo—starting in 2015 through the financial restructuring agreement with its lending banks—and its continuous support of its ambitious growth plan over the past years.