Houlihan Lokey Advises Nova RE

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Nova RE SIIQ S.p.A. (Nova RE) has strengthened its capital structure through a reserved cash capital increase entirely subscribed for by CPI Property Group S.A. (CPI), thus achieving a full transformation of its shareholder base and continuing the progression towards its strategic plan objectives. The transaction closed on 29 October 2020.

Headquartered in Rome and listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, Nova RE is a real estate company focused on the retail, office, and hospitality asset classes within the Italian real estate space. Its income-generating properties are primarily located in Rome, Milan, and Bari—valued at €123 million as of 30 June 2020*. Nova RE is among the limited group of five Italian companies to have obtained the Società di Investimento Immobiliare Quotata (SIIQ) status, which is similar to a REIT regime and offers tax benefits for investors.

CPI headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is the largest owner of income-generating real estate in the Czech Republic, Berlin, and the CEE region. It owns and operates a large, diversified, and high-quality real estate portfolio valued at €9.8 billion as of 30 June 2020*, comprising office properties (42%; primarily Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, and Budapest), followed by retail assets (22%; primarily dominant, regional shopping centres, and retail parks in the Czech Republic, as well as Poland and Hungary). CPI also owns hotels and resorts (7%), residential properties (7%), land bank (7%), development properties (2%), and industrial, agricultural, and logistics properties (3%). The firm has investment grade credit ratings from international rating agencies S&P (BBB), Moody’s (Baa2), and Japan Credit Rating Agency (A-), which have enabled CPI to become a frequent and well-established issuer in the international bond markets since 2017 across multiple currencies and instruments. Radovan Vítek directly and indirectly owns a stake representing approximately 91% of CPI’s share capital.

Through this transaction, CPI has established a platform for its current and future investments in Italy, paving the way to the successful implementation of Nova RE’s ambitious relaunch plan, as envisaged by the 2020–2024 business plan. By acquiring control of an SIIQ, CPI also gains a tax-efficient platform to attract third-party equity investors in the future.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Nova RE, assisting the transaction end to end—including origination, business plan preparation, financial structuring, and negotiation with multiple counterparties. This deal highlights Houlihan Lokey’s ability to navigate challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver an outstanding outcome to its clients within sectors that are heavily impacted by the current economic scenario.