Safilo Group closes significant €400m refinancing agreement

27 Jun '06

2 min read

Eyewear maker Safilo Group SpA has announced the closing of an important loan agreement, with a significant improvement of the guarantee package and margins, through the signing of a new contract for the sum of €400 million, in replacement of the Senior Loan granted in 2002.

Following the Leverage Buy-Out launched in May 2001 by Vittorio Tabacchi and his family, the most important in the European market at that time in terms of its size, today's announcement regarding the re-financing of the Senior Loan concludes the extraordinary phase which has characterised Safilo Group's activities for the last five years.

Thanks to the support of the Italian and international banking system, Private Equity funds and the capital markets with regards to both its debt side (through the launch of the first Italian High Yield Bond rated by Moody's and S&P in May 2003) and its equity side (through the successful listing of the company on the Italian Stock Exchange in December 2005), Safilo Group SpA now has a very well balanced capital structure with a new loan that has a guarantee package and interest margin in line with the best market conditions.

Roberto Vedovotto, CEO of Safilo Group SpA, commented “We are satisfied about having obtained financing conditions with a significantly improved guarantee package and, above all, an important reduction of interest rates equal to a spread of 60 basis points (variable on the basis of the leverage ratio) compared to the previous spread which, depending on the tranche, varied between 225 and 325 basis points over EURIBOR.”

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