The ULMA Group has reached a historic milestone by being the first Cooperative Industrial Group to issue a listed debt for a volume of €50 million at 12 years (with a mean life of 10 years).
ULMA has used the alternative fixed-income market (MARF) to make the loan and have ALANTRA as its underwriter. The operation has been fully subscribed by international investors with a buy & hold profile.
It consists of a bond program that provides an alternative for the diversification of sources of financing and whose goal is to provide greater flexibility to accelerate its international expansion.
Strategic objective
The diversification of its sources of financing, expansion of terms and improvement of the economic conditions are the main objectives set in the financial area within the Group’s Strategic Plan. The current bond issue is the last milestone within this plan, which aims to provide a powerful financial structure that meets the needs of the Group’s Businesses.
In September 2018, the ULMA Group signed, alongside Banco Santander, BBVA, Caixabank, Banco Sabadell, Caja Rural, Kutxabank and Laboral Kutxa, 7-year bilateral loans amounting to €99.8 million and working lines of €164.7 million. That same month, it renewed the €50 million Notes programme registered in MARF and, finally, in December 2018, it signed a loan with the European Investment Bank for €26 million, with a 10-year maturity.
The last milestone has been the signing of a bond program for a loan in the amount of $100 million over a period of 3 years, in which more than half available has already been issued. It has been a challenge for ULMA since, based on its cooperative nature, it has made an attractive offer for the most demanding investors, issuing bonds with maturities of 8-12 years with an interest rate of 2.25%. The issue had the collaboration of ALANTRA as coordinator and underwriter, as well as Garrigues as the legal advisor of the operation.
Development of the Business Plan.
With this new financial structure, the ULMA Group is prepared to address its Development Plan for the coming years. The different ULMA Businesses have a relevant position in their markets and seek to take advantage of opportunities for sustainable and profitable growth. Thus, it consists of taking advantage of its entire network of subsidiaries and developing its potential in many of the markets where ULMA is present.
The increase in scale is the biggest challenge facing ULMA Businesses. This should allow it to be more efficient, have a greater capacity to incorporate new technologies, and invest in new products and services that help it make more complete value propositions and, thus, access and consolidate its position in leading clients in all sectors in which It is present, so that it can respond to challenges such as automation, digitalisation, and environmental requirements. According to Iñaki Gabilondo, CEO of the ULMA Group, “this will be a great opportunity to continue improving our position.”
The ULMA Group has a turnover of around €900 million, around 75% of which is intended for international sales. It has more than 5,200 professionals and is present in more than 80 countries, with its own network of 64 subsidiaries. The geographic diversification is complemented by the diversity of businesses and sectors in which it is present.
ULMA has 9 Businesses that operate in the world of formworks and scaffolding, machine manufacturing and automated solutions for packaging processes, oil & gas and mining, intralogistics engineering, drainage systems and ventilated façades, maintenance services, greenhouses, and advanced solutions in embedded electronics.