New debt advisory team in Italy Debt advisory services - Syncap

SPOTLIGHT
Debt advisory services (continued)
advisory dovetails with our role as financial advisors and sector
experts. Not all clients are necessarily financially distressed,
but it pays to think ahead and forestall potential problems with
an analysis of a company’s capital structure.”
Clairfield Partners Boer &Croon in the Netherlands and Mc-
Coll Partners in the USA also have debt advisory divisions,
while Carlton Partners in the UK has recently appointed a
new managing director with expertise in debt recovery (see
back cover). All Clairfield Partners firms offer capital management
advice and raising debt financing as part of their M&A
services.
Boer & Croon’s corporate recovery team is comprised of financial
and sector experts with extensive experience. When
needed, this team is supplemented by an interim manager at
the distressed company.
“The role of the debt advisor is to review the client’s underlying
financial structure and determine objectives and strategies to
reach the optimal level of debt,” says Rob van der Laan, CEO of
Boer & Croon. “This may involve negotiating with current lenders,
raising new debt or capital, or completing a sale of assets
New debt advisory team in Italy
Clairfield Partners in Italy, K Finance, has expanded its debt
advisory practice in response to the the increasing market
demand for debt restructuring services. The new team is composed
of three experienced professionals.
Martino Brioni is executive director of the new practice. He
has worked in corporate banking and corporate finance at S.G.
Warburg, Citibank, Rabobank, and ABN Amro/Antonveneta as
director and managing director. In this capacity he was responsible
for corporate banking, structured finance, private equity,
leveraged finance, and large corporate activities. He also acted
as group CFO and board member of leading corporate groups.
Nicolas Diers and Mauro Gambaro are senior advisors at the
new practice. Mr. Diers spent many years as country manager
in Credit Lyonnais Italia. For the last four years he has been
managing director and senior country manager for Natixis
Banque Italia. He grew Natixis Italia to about €100 million
in the most efficient and value-maximizing manner. Confidentiality
and discretion is key. We offer a unique combination of
advisory, corporate finance, and management. Through these
three core activities, we can provide strategical thinking as well
as implementation power.”
In one case last year, Renal, an Italian real estate company,
restructured its debt with a new 20-year loan of €18.8 million
financed by Fortis Bank. The new loan replaced the existing
financial debts Renal had with other banking institutions.
“Renal has €60 million of assets under management, consisting
of both commercial and residential buildings, so in spite of the
end of the housing bubble, this is is a company with solid financials
behind it,” says Giuseppe R. Grasso, partner and founder of
Clairfield’s Italian partner K Finance. “This transaction allowed
Renal both to extend the repayment period of the financial debt
and to decrease its costs. Our role was to advise the company
on all its options, search for the best debt provider, and arrange
the financing.”
The financial downturn will reach its end eventually, but the
goal of debt advisory and restructuring to create greater value
for a company is a useful service in any financial climate.
global revenues in corporate and investment banking (including
structured finance - LBO projects, etc. - and debt origination/
capital markets).
Mr. Diers is also CEO of MPK Rating, the K Finance fully-owned
subsidiary active in external credit-rating assessment.
Mauro Gambaro has more than 35 years of experience in the
financial sector and was managing director of Interbanca for
more than seven years. After two years as general manager of
F.C. Internazionale Milano soccer team, he is now a corporate
finance advisor. Mr. Gambaro is also the Italian representative
of Paul Capital Advisors, a leading investor in the secondary
private equity market who acquires limited partner interests
as well as a portfolio of direct equity interests in private
companies.
This talented and experienced team will enhance Clairfield’s
role in the growing debt advisory market in Italy and abroad.
2 Clairfield Review Q2 09