Eyewear group Safilo launches share capital increase of up to €150 million

By

Edoardo Meliado

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Sep 27, 2018

Italian eyewear manufacturer Safilo is moving forward with its reorganisation plan, launching a share capital increase of up to €150 million, through the issue of new ordinary shares. Safilo’s board of directors has convened an extraordinary shareholders meeting on October 29, to deliberate on the proposed capital increase.

In a press release, Safilo stated that the operation is designed “to support the overall programme of refinancing of the group’s debt expiring within the next twelve months, strengthening and optimizing Safilo’s capital and financial structure so as to allow the company to focus on the growth and development targets set forth in the group's update of the 2020 business plan, released on August 2 2018.”
 
As part of the refinancing programme, the HAL investment fund, which is Safilo's reference shareholder through its Multibrands Italy BV subsidiary - which owns a 41.6% stake in the eyewear group - has committed to subscribe both the new shares underlying its option rights for its current holding, and any unsubscribed new shares. 

Safilo's relaunch plan is therefore supported both by HAL and by a pool of leading banks, which have negotiated the terms and conditions of a new loan for up to €150 million over approximately four and a half years.
 
Safilo’s CEO Angelo Trocchia said that “the capital increase and the confirmed support of our reference shareholder and the lender banks represent a significant step for Safilo, following which the company will be ready to pursue with confidence the targets of its 2020 business plan, focusing on a few, very clear priorities.”

The eyewear group closed the latest six months of its financial year with a 10% revenue decrease, down to €492.2 million, and posted losses for €10.4 million (up from the previous €6.6 million). To deal with this crisis, Angelo Trocchia was forced to revise downwards the revenue guidance for 2020 - from €1.6-1.7 billion to just over €1 billion - and launched a cost-cutting plan to save €70 million which will also include a review of the group's employment levels.