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Nazca enters the outdoor advertising business

Nazca enters the outdoor advertising business

  • The risk capital entity has acquired two companies in the sector, Sistemas e Imagen Publicitaria, located in Barcelona, and Mundex, in Madrid.
  • Both companies will be merged to create a new company, Grupo Autor, in which Nazca will control 87% of the capital.
  • Also participating in the project was the former Managing Director of Grupo Zeta, Jesús Castillo, who will hold the post of managing director of Grupo Autor and will form part of its shareholding.

Venture capital firm Nazca Capital, through Nazca Fund II, has completed the acquisition of two outdoor advertising companies: Sistemas e Imagen Publicitaria (Barcelona) and Mundex (Madrid). Both companies will be merged into a new company called Grupo Autor, which will be the platform for acquiring two more companies during the coming months. A final investment of around 35 million euros is estimated.

The purchase of Sistemas e Imagen Publicitaria and Mundex has been structured as a BIMBO (Buy In Management Buy Out). Nazca will control 87% of Grupo Autor, while Jesús Castillo will hold the post of managing director of the new company, former shareholders of Sistemas e Imagen Publicitaria taking the remaining 13% of the capital.

Altium advised Jesús Castillo and Nazca in the identification of opportunities and the negotiation of acquisitions. The financial, legal, fiscal and equity due diligence was carried out by KPMG Transaction Services and DLA Piper was the law firm which advised the purchase and financing agreed with Caja Ávila.

Sistemas e Imagen Publicitaria is a leading operator in Catalonia. Additionally, it is present in Aragon and the Valencian Community. It has a total of 2,600 advertising mediums (billboards, etc.). Mundex, in turn, is a local operator in Madrid, Cuenca and Segovia, with 300 mediums (billboards) specialised in the management of municipal concessions.

The objective of Nazca is the construction of an outdoor advertising group based on acquisitions throughout the national territory, for subsequent strengthening through organic growth. The new company will also be committed to new lines of business, such as “spectacular marketing” and “ambient media”.

For Nazca, it is the fifth operation in the 2007 financial year, after investment in Acens Technologies and divestment from Lizarrán, Dibaq and Vinartis.

New purchases
In the 2007 financial year, Grupo Autor may achieve sales of between 20 and 25 million euros, with an operating margin of around 25%. The plans of Grupo Autor involve purchasing more companies which are leaders in their region and have well-structured equity and estimated organic growth of 20% annually during the next four financial years. The strategy of the new company will at first cover the markets of Madrid, Catalonia and Levante, then extending through the rest of the national territory.

Jesús Castillo, who will lead the Grupo Autor project as managing director, has extensive experience in the business of managing spaces and advertising mediums. He was managing director of Grupo Zeta and CEO of Grupo Prisa. The rest of the management team will be made up of six professionals with over 20 years of experience in the outdoor advertising sector.

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