Kartesia provides financing solution to Excom
Kartesia, the European specialist provider of capital solutions for small and mid-sized companies, today announces that it has provided a senior financing package of up to €58m, including a €10m uncommitted incremental facility, to Spanish telecoms operator Excom (“the Company”).
Established in 2001, Excom is a telecom operator in Spain, focused on smaller cities and rural areas, commercializing broadband and mobile services and making high speed internet available to regions with previously limited access to such services through the deployment of Fiber to the home (FTTH) infrastructure.
Since 2015, the Company has grown significantly through organic and inorganic growth, having completed 11 acquisitions between 2015 and 2021. In 2020, Spanish private equity firm Formentor Capital acquired a majority stake in Excom and provided additional growth capital, with the founder and CEO Luis Abenza Sanchez maintaining a significant stake in the business.
The senior financing solution provided by Kartesia will be primarily used to continue deployment of the FTTH network and support further inorganic growth plans.
The deal team at Kartesia comprised Jaime Prieto (Managing Partner), Javier Castillo (Director) and Antonio Pastor (Associate).
In Excom, the process has been led by José Vazquez (CFO) with the support of Luis Abenza (CEO), Francisco Sevilla (Strategy Director) and Juan Arena (Partner) from Formentor. Mr. Vazquez and Mr. Sevilla joined Excom with the entry of Formentor as a shareholder of the company.
Luis Abenza Sanchez, CEO of Excom, said: “We are excited about the opportunities this financing package from Kartesia will provide as we continue our development in the Spanish market. Their expertise in Spanish telecoms, coupled with the support of our existing majority shareholder Formentor Capital, will be invaluable to our business as we look to future growth.”
Javier Castillo, Director at Kartesia, commented: “We are very much looking forward to working with both Excom and Formentor Capital to support the ambitious growth plans for the Company in the Spanish telecoms market, building on Kartesia’s expertise in the sector following investments in Ahi+ and Comfica. The provision of FTTH infrastructure is crucial to the continued development of Spain’s rural areas and we believe that Excom has the management team, supportive sponsor and leading market position to lead this digitalisation process.”
Juan Arena, Partner of Formentor, mentioned: “We are very satisfied with the incorporation of Kartesia as a strategic partner in Excom. Since our entry, the management team and the board of directors have been strengthened, generating excellent results. This new milestone is a further step in the consolidation of Excom as a reference player in the rural telecom market in Spain”.