Allen & Overy advises UniCredit on first securitisation of an acquisition finance loan

This is the first syndication, known to the market, of an acquisition finance loan carried out through an Italian securitisation vehicle. 

The transaction involves the granting of a financing by Agorà Finance S.r.l. to a company having as its corporate purpose the holding of an equity stake in industrial and real estate entities, pursuant to article 1, paragraph 1-ter, of Law 130/99 over an innovative securitisation platform established by UniCredit for the transfer of bank loan exposures and/or direct lending in the acquisition finance, real estate, project and infrastructure sectors. 

The notes issued by the special purpose vehicle have been subscribed for by a fund managed by a leading international alternative investment manager.

Allen & Overy assisted in the structuring of the platform and the securitisation of the acquisition finance loan with a team led by partner Stefano Sennhauser and counsel Pietro Bellone, with the support of associate Fabio Gregoris. Partner Francesco Guelfi and senior associate Elia Ferdinando Clarizia, together with associate Lino Ziliotti, advised on the tax aspects of the transaction.

Commenting on the transaction, counsel Pietro Bellone said: “The structure used in this transaction is unique to the market and is a great example of the expertise we have in our team. We were very pleased to assist in this novel transaction and I anticipate we will see more securitisations used in acquisition finance loans.”