KKR Asset Management has entered into an agreement with Uralita and its subsidiary, URSA Insulation, to provide a EUR320m seven-year facility to repay current lenders – both banks and noteholders – and to develop URSA’s pan-European insulation business.
The investment has been made through investment funds managed by KAM’s special situations business.
Uralita is a multinational company of building materials, and its insulation division, URSA, is a European company in the field of thermal and acoustic insulation in buildings. URSA is believed to be well positioned for the growth potential in the insulation market in Europe, based on necessary energy efficiency improvements in the building stock over the next decades. Currently, URSA operates 14 factories located in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey.
Jesus Olmos, member of the firm and in charge of KKR’s Spanish operations, says: “We are very excited about the opportunity to support Uralita, which is a market-leading company with a strong international position and growth potential, headquartered in Spain. We are looking forward to building a long term relationship with Uralita.”
Mubashir Mukadam, KKR’s European head of special situations, says: “Amidst the current dislocation in the European markets, we are in a position to make attractive investments in world class enterprises, providing vital capital solutions to the companies with which we partner and interesting opportunities for our investors. With this investment, we combined the strength of our European-based Special Situation team, the local knowledge of our Spanish KKR team, and the deep sector expertise of the firm, resulting in us being able to act on a great opportunity to work with a great company.”
Lazard has acted as financial advisor for KKR in this process.