OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT takes majority stake in COL GROUP

Oaktree Capital Management acquired 70% of Col Giovanni Paolo, the Turin-based manufacturer of components and systems for medium and high voltage smart grids, in a bilateral transaction announced on 20 January 2021 and cleared shortly before by the Italian competition authority. The purchase, made through Oaktree Power Opportunities Fund V via the Luxembourg vehicle OCM Luxembourg POW V, also covered the subsidiaries Seb, in Barlassina, and Col GP Maroc. The Col family reinvested and kept the remaining 30%, with chief executive Alessandro Col and the management team staying to develop the business in Italy and abroad alongside Oaktree. At the time of the deal, the company generated revenue of €90M and an EBITDA of €25M, an EBITDA margin of 27.8%. Francesco Giuliani, managing director at Oaktree, said Col's position in medium and high voltage products, built over a century of activity, made it a key contributor to the energy transition. The investment added to Oaktree's electrical engineering holdings in Italy, after it took 80% of Cebat, which builds and maintains power distribution lines, substations and public lighting, in October 2019. Alongside the acquisition, Col took a 51% stake in MCM, a maker of medium voltage instrument transformers, and in November 2021 it bought TW-TeamWare, a Milan company specialising in electrical measurement, power quality, smart grid automation and remote network control. Intesa Sanpaolo acted as mandated lead arranger, bookrunner and agent on the financing, alongside Banca Ifis, Crédit Agricole and UBI Banca as mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners. Lincoln International ran the process as exclusive M&A adviser to Col's shareholders and debt adviser to Oaktree, with Legance and Musumeci Altara Desana advising on corporate, employment and antitrust matters, Madlex advising the Col family and the company, Ashurst acting for the banking pool, and EY, L.E.K., Ramboll and Aon handling tax, commercial, ESG and insurance due diligence.