By Elena Yepes, Partner @Anquor Corporate Finance

20:30 Thursday, February 25, 2021, virtual dinner of Group 2 Promotion 98 EXEP

The established calendar of holding a six-monthly dinner is rigorously maintained and on this occasion 4 of the 6 members of the group, Ana, Carlos, Mercedes and Pedro, attend. Manel is absorbed in the restructuring of the multinational in which he acts as CFO for Europe-EU and Javier will try to connect when he finishes his family tasks, since his partner is on call at the hospital.

Ana: I was going to order sushi but I need to fight the cold with a 2015 Pinot Noir from Côte de Nuits that I would love to share with you; so on this occasion the liquid defines the solid and I have put on the chef’s hat to prepare a courgette omelette with idiazábal cheese; all organic, of course!

Carlos: How great Ana! We always learn with you to enjoy the moment, and it is very necessary today that we meet with physical distance for the first time in 20 years. I just made myself a sandwich with what I found in the fridge and I’m going to virtually toast with one of my favorite beers.

Mercedes: For a change, I’m not very hungry and I’m going to microwave some plasticized noodles that I just bought at the supermarket. You already know how well it will be for me to go out to dinner with you, for the best nutritional and above all emotional nutrition; I am sure that on the second Thursday of July we will be able to share a fantastic dinner in the open air!

Pedro: Hello friends! I miss you and the day has been hard, so I made an extra and the order from my favorite restaurant just arrived, with an extra second and we are in black truffle season….

Pedro is a second generation family business and is managing a difficult financial situation, something little new today. Despite having consolidated the business that his father started more than 40 years ago, through an international expansion that began in the previous crisis, which allowed him to gain market share, improve EBITDA and generate free cash for the property. The last 3 years have been correct, although the sector has evolved and the strategy of Pedro and his team has been to make a significant investment to modernize the production, distribution and marketing of their products. The company is small compared to its international competitors that have been concentrating through acquisitions and capital increases.

The venture capital group that approached Pedro in the second half of 2019 is still interested in acquiring a significant share of the capital. Pedro analyzed the offer (letter of intent) at the time and after an internal analysis with his management team plus the family’s trusted lawyer, he declined the negotiation. Now it has several open fronts: internal restructuring of subsidiaries, expiration of debt with mortgage guarantee, opportunity to acquire business from smaller third parties and the ICO-ERTE effects of Covid-19.

Between a sip of wine and a bite of truffles, Pedro listens to Mercedes (who talks more than she eats), explaining her current experience with an M&A boutique that is helping her in a Sale&lease back process for her main asset and operating business.

The services provided by professionals specialized in corporate finance go beyond materializing a transaction and charging a commission. These services begin with the knowledge of the entrepreneur, his business and the current situation of both, with the main objective of carrying out an accompaniment in the most appropriate process for the current business and personal situation of the potential client, whether it is a business reorganization, with focus on business assets and management, such as a debt restructuring and/or potential incorporation of a financial partner in the capital, with the focus being financial liabilities and resources in their most optimal possible structure.

Pedro is thinking that it is time to make exceptions, such as accompanying a virtual dinner with a luxury product such as black truffles, and also to seek professional support for business and financial decision-making. Sometimes exceptions become a good rule.

PS: Vaccination is the act and the result of vaccinating. This action refers to applying an antigen that, when inoculated into a subject, protects him against certain diseases. In 1881, Louis Pasteur proposed that the terms vaccine and vaccination should be expanded to cover the new protective inoculations then being developed (www.wikipedia.org)