Basket Bond Sistema Confindustria: the 50 million euro programme dedicated to SMEs and Mid-Cap promoted together with CDP, MCC and Banca Finint kicks off

The placement of the first minibond issues totalling EUR 11 million to support the development plans of five companies active in different sectors of the Italian economy, from aerospace to components, has been completed
The named initiative benefits from the coverage offered by the SME Guarantee Fund

Rome, 15 October 2024 - To be at the side of companies to promote their investment plans and to strengthen their competitiveness in Italy with alternative finance instruments. This is the main objective of the new Basket Bond Programme Sistema Confindustria worth a total of 50 million promoted by Confindustria, structured by Finint Bank and which it sees as investors on an equal footing, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) e Mediocredito Centrale (MCC). The initiative also benefits of the SME Guarantee Fund Thanks to the special basket bond section of the SME Guarantee Fund established by the D.L. Sostegni Bis, managed by MCC.

In particular, the first two tranches of minibonds worth a total of EUR 11 million were issued by five companies active in various sectors of the Italian economy from aerospace to components and operating in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Campania, Veneto and Piedmont. The minibonds, with a duration of seven years including pre-amortisation, allowed them to raise resources to support their respective investment and development plans. In particular, the companies will use the funds for the implementation of new plants and machining centres, for the realisation of new business ideas, and for the purchase of machinery to optimise the companies' production time and capacity.

The issuing companies are: C Blade S.p.A. Forging and Manufacturing S.p.A. (specialising in the forging and machining of blades for the aerospace e energy), Caffaro Industrie S.p.A. (operating in the fine chemicals and specialties), Ekoru S.r.l. (a manufacturer of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete building blocks), Imilani S.r.l. - Benefit Society (active in the transformation of polymer into plastic cassettes by moulding), Nuova Simplast S.p.A. (holding company of a group active in the design, prototyping and production of plastic components for the automotive, agricultural machinery, furniture/design, industrial cleaning machines, construction and marine).

Under the initiative, which is supported by Confindustria as promoter and by Banca Finint in the role of arranger and placement agent, CDP and MCC invest, through a special purpose vehicle, in minibonds issued by companies that intend to finance their growth using an alternative channel to the traditional credit channel. The instrument is characterised by a longer maturity than the maturities generally offered by the banking channel and by competitive interest rates thanks in part to the support of the SME Guarantee Fund coverage.

More and more companies are referring to Basket Bond programmes to diversify their sources of supply. For this very reason, applications for the alternative finance instrument launched by Confindustria, CDP, MCC and Banca Finint can still be submitted in the last quarter of 2024. At the moment, only SMEs are allowed to access the programme, according to the regulatory framework.