Rolls-Royce has just announced the sale of the Basque aircraft manufacturer ITP Aero for 1.7 billion euros to the consortium made up of Bain Capital, the Basque company Sapa and JB Capital (Javier Botín’s fund). In this way, the American venture capital manager manages to close the negotiations against time to introduce a Spanish partner in the consortium and to maintain the national character of the company, considered strategic.
In this way, the buyers undertake to provide sufficient financial support to boost the growth of the company, to maintain the entire workforce of the aeronautical manufacturer, as well as the headquarters and decision-making in Zamudio (Spain). “Rolls-Royce, Bain Capital and ITP Aero show their satisfaction with the constructive dialogue maintained in this transaction with the Spanish and Basque governments”, they have highlighted through a statement in which they have also announced that they are willing to introduce more national partners until reaching “30% of the capital”.
While waiting to obtain the corresponding authorizations, which are expected by the middle of next year, the sale process that began more than a year ago as part of the Rolls-Royce divestment plan is coming to an end, which will enter around 1,700 million euros for this sale. This transaction, coordinated by the investment bank Goldman Sachs, has caused real headaches for the participants due to the political nature of the operation, as a result of the contracts that ITP Aero maintains with the Ministry of Defense.
In this sense, last weekend, the Basque Lehendakari, Íñigo Urkullu, tweeted his concern about the sale of the manufacturer, which will finally meet all the requirements after Sener slammed the door to participate in the consortium. The board of the Sendagorta company was divided on whether or not to participate in this operation until a few days ago, since they considered that Bain had not prepared a long-term industrial plan that would guarantee the growth of the company and their exit from it when the American came out. It should be remembered that Sener sold this company to Rolls-Royce in 2017.
Interest despite the situation
In this context, the complicated situation in the aeronautical sector due to the coronavirus pandemic (which has weighed down ITP’s accounts last year) has not stopped , which received offers from the heavyweights of the sector, (which reached the final phase ) or the Americans KKR and Towerbrook. However, the high price put on the table by Bain Capital made it get exclusivity in the negotiations to take over the manufacturer. After a long summer of negotiations, the US fund has managed to close the consortium with two well-known Spanish companies: Sapa, which is also involved in the construction of the new Spanish battle tank, and JB Capital, Javier Botín’s investment firm.
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