Secuoya gains financial muscle with the entry of N+1

Grupo Secuoya incorporates the funds managed by N+1 Private Equity into its capital, acquiring 55% of the capital and committing a minimum investment of an additional 20 million euros for the development of the Group's strategic projects.

N+1 has acquired 55% of the capital of the Secuoya communication group. The operation will be closed in the coming days by presenting a purchase offer under the same conditions to the minority shareholders.
This is the largest financial operation carried out this year in the Spanish audiovisual market, except for the merger of Antena 3 and La Sexta.

The entry of N+1 into the capital of Secuoya will mean greater financial strength for the company to compete in a tight market in which the lack of liquidity and the difficulty of access to credit prevail.

In this sense, N+1 commits a minimum of an additional 20 million euros to carry out the strategic projects of the Secuoya Group, already one of the least indebted groups on the market. Among them, the competition in the outsourcing processes of the regional chains, the acquisition of new companies within the value chain of the audiovisual industry, and the creation of an international network of Spanish-speaking content producers stand out. All of this in order to constitute, according to Raúl Berdonés, executive president of Grupo Secuoya, “the largest group in the Spanish market in content and audiovisual services.”

According to Berdonés, the entry into the capital of N+1 represents an important push to undertake the Group's expansion plans. "In a market as changing as the audiovisual sector, new business opportunities continue to be created. This is how we see it - and we have been demonstrating it - and this has been confirmed by N+1, which has seen in our company a commitment to the future."

For his part, Ignacio Moreno, CEO of N+1 Private Equity, stated that "Secuoya has an excellent positioning and a solid management team to address the growth opportunities that are opening up in the audiovisual sector. We hope that this agreement will contribute decisively to the project by strengthening Secuoya's capital structure, management resources and contributing our experience in build-up processes developed in other sectors."

After the entry of N+1, Secuoya's capital structure is distributed as follows: N+1, with 55%, is the first significant shareholder; Raúl Berdonés becomes the second significant shareholder; and Pablo Jimeno the third significant shareholder. The rest of the capital is distributed between the free float (the amount of which will depend on the degree of acceptance of the offer made by N+1 to the minority shareholders) and the treasury stock.

Management continuity

The current management team, headed by the executive president and CEO, Raúl Berdonés, and by Pablo Jimeno, general director, remains the head of the Secuoya Group in accordance with the management pact agreed between both parties, which guarantees the continuity of the management of the company in accordance with shared strategic objectives.

The team of Onza Partners professionals headed by Jose María Irisarri will join Secuoya's management team in order to achieve the company's strategic objectives.

In full expansion, despite the market contraction, and with a notable increase in its strength in content and audiovisual services, Grupo Secuoya obtained an EBITDA of 4.08 million euros in 2011, 72% more than the previous year. Since its creation in 2008, the company has recorded a constant growth rate (CAGR) of 51%.