Njord Partners Sells SolidAl to NKT

Njord Partners, the special situations investment manager, today announces that it has agreed to sell SolidAl - Condutores Eléctricos, S.A. (“SolidAl” or the “Company”), a leading Portuguese manufacturer of power cables and supplier of integrated solutions for energy transmission and distribution, to NKT, one of the world’s leading power cable companies.

SolidAl has over 50 years of experience delivering power cables for projects across more than 40 countries. The Company, which is located in Esposende, Portugal, has 430 employees and is focused on European markets, principally France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the UK.

Njord Partners first invested in SolidAl in 2015, when, against the backdrop of a complex and short-term debt structure, the Company required a funding solution to provide working capital and increase the capacity of the Company’s key production plant in Esposende in Northern Portugal. Njord Partners created a solution that solved both the issue of the short-dated nature of the Company’s debt and its complex capital structure, and addressed SolidAl’s need for working capital.

Njord Partners’ became majority shareholder in 2018, and under its guidance, a new and highly experienced leadership and advisory team was introduced to strengthen capabilities across the business, resulting in a full financial restructuring and operational turnaround, the success of which was recognized by the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) in 2020 as International Company Turnaround of the Year, and is reflected in SolidAl’s profitable growth since 2018.

Since Njord Partners’ initial investment, SolidAl has experienced very strong growth, more than doubling its revenue and EBITDA and in 2023 generated revenue of approximately €150m and EBITDA of approximately €20m. NKT has acquired SolidAl for a total enterprise value of €192m, an EV/EBITDA multiple of 9.4x.

Arvid Trolle, co-founder of Njord Partners, commented: "We are proud to have supported SolidAl in its turnaround. The Company’s significant progress is testament to Francois Moufflet and his leadership team who have led the transformation of the business and were awarded Company Turnaround of the Year in recognition of their efforts. NKT is the best partner to continue SolidAl’s journey and we look forward to seeing its ongoing success."

Francois Moufflet, CEO at SolidAl, added: “Our partnership with the Njord team has been a great success. Our shared dedication to transform the business has enabled SolidAl to strengthen its position across Europe. We look forward to our partnership with the NKT team and a new growth phase for SolidAl.”

Njord Partners was advised on the transaction by Lazard (M&A), Barou Advisers (M&A), Macfarlanes (Legal) and Uría Menéndez (Legal - Portugal).

About Njord Partners

Njord Partners is a special situations investment manager and provider of long-term flexible capital solutions. Established in 2013, Njord Partners manages capital in excess of €1 billion. Investing in European middle-market companies facing complex situations, its mission is to deliver superior risk-weighted returns to investors while preserving capital. As a capital partner, Njord Partners offers flexible debt and equity solutions, actively facilitating strategic and operational enhancements within its portfolio companies to drive value.

To find out more visit: https://njordpartners.com/

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