7 Dec 2018 07:00
7 December 2018
CIP MERCHANT CAPITAL LIMITED
("CIP Merchant Capital" or the "Company")
Completion of the fourth investment
CIP Merchant Capital is pleased to announce that, further to its announcement of 11 October 2018, it has completed its investment in 7Star S.r.l. ("7Star"), a private Italian company founded in December 2016 that seeks to disrupt the veterinary hospital sector in Italy.
In line with the heads of terms announced previously, CIP Merchant Capital has invested, in aggregate, €6.1 million in 7Star. This aggregate investment comprises €2.6 million as consideration for an initial equity interest of 49 per cent. in 7Star and a further €3.5 million by way of an interest free shareholder loan to 7Star.
In line with Company's previous announcement, CIP Merchant Capital is currently seeking to syndicate a minority stake of its aggregate investment into 7Star and will provide updates to the market as appropriate.
7Star
7Star commenced operations at the end of October 2017 and currently operates a veterinary hospital, under the brand Happy Friends, in Lombardy, North Italy. The investment by CIP Merchant Capital will be used to finance the expansion of 7Star's operations through the opening of further veterinary hospitals and clinics in northern Italy. The founders of 7Star, Chicco Reggiani and Christian La Monaca, were previously behind CareDent Italia, which undertook a roll out of dental clinics throughout Italy and building a market leading market, before being acquired in 2016 and who are seeking to achieve the same through 7Star in the Italian veterinary sector.
For the year ended 31 December 2017, having been operating for only two months, 7Star achieved revenues of €0.1 million and had total assets of €1.5 million. In the nine months to 30 September 2018, revenues have grown to approximately €0.6 million.
For further information, please contact:
Merchant Capital Manager Limited (Investment Manager) Marco Fumagalli Carlo Sgarbi
| +41 91 225 25 60 |
Strand Hanson Limited (Financial & Nominated Adviser and Broker) Richard Tulloch / James Bellman | +44 20 7409 3494 |
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014.