Duna House acquires 2nd-largest loan broker in Italy
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Listed Hungarian real estate broker Duna House on Friday said it signed an agreement to acquire 70% of HGroup, Italy's second-biggest loan broker, with future put/call options that can boost its ownership to 100%, according to a report by state news wire MTI.
The enterprise value of HGroup might reach EUR 40-45 million due to adjusted pricing based on 2021 results, an additional earn-out on 2022-2024 results, and the put/call option mechanism based on future results. The first payment of the partial purchase price will be EUR 11.3 mln upon closing.
Through its subsidiary Credipass, HGroup has close to 1,000 financial experts and plans to become the top market player in 2022. The group also has "substantial" activity brokering insurance and has started to build up a real estate brokerage business, Duna House said.
HGroup is expected to produce EBITDA of EUR 4.5 mln in 2021, bringing the combined, pro forma EBITDA of Duna House Group and HGroup close to EUR 11 mln in 2021. The two businesses' combine brokered loan volume is expected to exceed EUR 2 bln, while their combined sales force approaches 5,000 loan and real estate brokers.
Duna House said it is weighing the issue of an additional HUF 6 bln bond in the framework of the Bond Funding for Growth Scheme (BGS) of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) to strengthen its current financial position in light of future earn-out payments, refinancing the existing debt of HGroup, making other possible acquisitions and maintaining the dividend policy of the group; however, it added that the transaction "is viable" without the bond issue, too.
Duna House co-founder Guy Dymschiz called the acquisition "a huge leap" for the group, "giving us access to one of the largest countries in Europe, significantly increasing our size and profit generation capabilities, opening possibilities to expand into additional Western European markets and bringing the group an important step closer to our vision of becoming a leading player in the European residential real estate and financial services markets".
"We believe that using the combined strength, know-how and capabilities of these two entities will create the situation where one plus one equals three," he added.
HGroup chairman Diego Locatelli said the union would produce a "much stronger, more competitive group...ready to explore the opportunities in the market with the declared goal of becoming the leading European group in our reference sectors".
In an investor presentation released with the announcement of the acquisition, Duna House said it aims to boost its market capitalization from EUR 42 mln at present to EUR 100 mln in the short term and EUR 150-200 mln in the mid-term. It wants to raise free float from 21% to 50% in the long term.
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