X3 Group ("X3"), a subsidiary of ION Group, announces the closing of acquisition of Prelios S.p.A ("Prelios"), for € 1.35 billion.
Established in 1990 in Milan, Italy, Prelios is the Italian leader in alternative asset management, servicing and specialized property services with more than €40bn of assets under management across non-performing loans, unlikely-to-pay exposures and real estate funds.
Fabrizio Palenzona, President of Prelios S.p.A commented: “The successful conclusion of this long journey is a great satisfaction and fills us with enthusiasm and responsibility. The acquisition by ION will allow Prelios to further consolidate its leadership role within the servicing and asset management sector. The company manages a significant portfolio of non-performing loans (UTPs and NPLs) and real estate assets, which are key to maintaining financial stability and enhancing asset quality in the Italian financial and real estate market. The deal is part of a broader strategy to improve asset management and efficient decision-making processes through the use of data. The credit servicing industry in Italy is going through a significant consolidation phase, driven by the need to improve operational efficiency, exploit economies of scale and expand service capabilities in a maturing market that requires new, more sophisticated and evolved service propositions. Thanks to ION all this will be possible”.
Goldman Sachs International acted as financial advisor and Linklaters LLP provided legal advice to Davidson Kempner.
Lazard acted as financing advisor to Prelios.
The law firm Russo De Rosa Associati acted as tax and legal advisors for the management.
UBS acted as financial advisor, Gattai, Minoli, Partners and Chiomenti provided legal advice, Facchini Rossi Michelutti provided tax advice to ION.
Unicredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and BNP Paribas led the consortium of banks, also including Banco BPM, Standard Chartered Bank and Mediobanca, that are providing financing to X3 for the transaction. BNP Paribas and Mediobanca acted as financial advisors to X3. Milbank provided legal advice for the financing to X3 and Latham & Watkins advised the lenders