LONDON, June 10 (IFR) - Bain Capital, Advent International and Clessidra are considering a bond issue of up to 1bn to back their acquisition of Istituto Centrale delle Banche Popolari Italiane (ICBPI), according to market sources. The consortium is in exclusive talks to acquire the Italian payment services specialist, which a group of cooperative banks is selling due to regulatory pressures. One of the sources said the eventual debt size will depend on what the Italian regulators allow, however. Two sources said Goldman Sachs is well positioned to lead the deal, although the bank list has not been finalised yet. Financial institutions have become a more mainstream part of the European high-yield bond market in recent years, with debt purchasers such as Arrow Global and Lowell now frequent issuers. The first source said that ICBPI’s closest comparables in leveraged finance are WorldPay and Nets, which were both LBOs backed by leveraged loans. Head of Clessidra Claudio Sposito said last week that he expects to sign the deal to buy ICBPI on June 19, and that an IPO within three to four years is an option. (Reporting by Robert Smith; editing by Alex Chambers)
Bain Capital, Advent International and Celssidra are understood to be considering issuing bonds to the value of up-to 1bn to fund an acquisition of Instituto Centrale della Banche Popolari Italiane (ICBPI). The consortium is in exclusive talks to acquire the Italian payment services specialist, which is for sale by a group of cooperative banks due to regulatory pressure