US fund Bain has closed the purchase of 100% of ITP Aero, the aeronautical components manufacturer, for 1.6 billion euros, with SAPA from Guipuzcoa as an industrial partner. JB Capital has also joined the US investment fund and the Andoain-based company as a shareholder. The buyers are committed to maintaining employment – more than 4,000 workers – and the head office and financial headquarters in the Basque Country (in Zamudio, Vizcaya).
But the agreement does not yet satisfy the demands of the central government – which has to authorise the operation – and the Basque government, although progress has been made. From now until June 2022, Bain Capital is open to negotiating the incorporation in the consortium of other Spanish industrial partners, for up to 30% of the capital, Rolls-Royce sources said yesterday. This sale is key to the divestment programme that Rolls-Royce announced in 2020 to obtain revenues of at least 2.342 billion euros.
The deal comes two months after Bain beat Cinven, Aernnova and KKR in the bid organised by Goldman Sachs and Lazard. And when the two-month period for bilateral negotiations between the parties expired. The main stumbling block during this time has been to form a consortium with Spanish and Basque companies which guarantees the government’s authorisation.
The Basque government has already announced that it will enter ITP Aero’s capital through its investment fund, Finkatuz, with “a significant outlay”. This could be around 60 million euros for a stake of about 4%.
