Konecta Italia spa obtained short-term financing from 5 million of euros from Solution Bank, challenger bank that integrates traditional services with specialized solutions for corporate and investment banking, controlled by SC Lowy (see the press release here). The financing will be used to support the development of the Italian business and to support the company in optimizing working capital.
The Italian company is part of Konecta Groupglobal leader in customer management BPO, digital marketing and consultancy, the result of the wedding, in April 2022, between Commandeda group specializing in the provision of contact center services for financial institutions, active in 21 countries and controlled by Carlyle, and the Spanish colleague Konectacontrolled by Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), (see another article by BeBeez). The operation, which saw the exit for Carlyle, created the sixth largest CX BPO operator on the global market, with headquarters in Madrid, over 500 large client companies in Europe and America, more than 130 thousand employees, revenues equal to Almost 2 billion euros and an ebitda of 300 million.
A deal that was implemented through KronosNet, a newly established investment company at the time, which saw the involvement of managers from Konecta and Comdata; Of Jose María Pacheco, founder and president of Konecta; and more of ICG, a big alternative investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange with over 65 billion dollars in assets under management. Comdata had been on the market since October 2021 (see another article by BeBeez), after it closed the debt restructuring in June (see another article by BeBeez).
“The collaboration with Konecta is the demonstration of the successful path traced by Comdata in all these years, a path that has led it to excel both in Italy and in the world”, he said on the occasion of the merger agreement Massimo Canturi, CEO of the Italian market. “Thanks to the integration of the two companies and the unification under a single brand, that of Konecta, we further strengthen our position on the market, thus being able to look to the future of the business with renewed confidence,” he specified. And he had declared Jesus Vidal Barrio, today managing director of the Konecta group: “With the integration we have created a global leader in the Cx BPO market. Our commitment to predicting the emerging needs of our customers, meeting their specific demands in each country and conquering new markets will continue to be the pillars of our strategy. By working together, we will learn from each other, enriching the wealth of skills we have cultivated on both sides.” Konecta has been the new CEO for three weeks Nourdine Bihmane.
We remind you that 2023 was a year of strong growth for Solution Bank, whose general director is Frank Fogiel (see another article by BeBeez). The bank has indeed generated a pre-tax profit of 23.1 million eurosin increase of 109.3% compared to 2022 (see the press release on the 2023 accounts here and the 2022 budget here). Solution Bank is the former Credit of Romagna 90% of which was detected in April 2018 as said by SC Lowy, Hong Kong banking group with solid experience in managing credit funds and investing in high yield and distressed debt, founded by Michel Lowy And Cheon Lee (see another article by BeBeez).
Last year Solution Bank has disbursed more than 230 million euros to SMEs, assisting them in important operations for the growth of their business. At the end of 2023 i deposits I am grew by 28%attesting to 1.3 billion euros. Since the end of December, the credit institution underlined, the entirely digital online deposit account called Conto Yes has become active.
Among the latest loans disbursed, two operations were carried out in November 2023. The bank’s specialized lending team provided support to the FLO Group, which produces disposable food containers for retail and industry (see the press release at the time here). The group was created in 1973, originally focusing on the processing of plastic materials and then reaching the dimension of a multinational thanks to its ability to innovate and stay ahead of the times. Shortly before, the same team had supported Florence Luxury Leather srl in industrial aggregation with Griba srl, specialized in the creation of metallic finishes for high fashion (see the press release from the time here). Then, in October 2023, Solution Bank provided a financing Of 10 million eurosguaranteed by SACE, aL Officine Maccaferri Group (see another article by BeBeez)the historic group that offers advanced engineering solutions for the mitigation of hydrogeological risk, for the development and safety of transport infrastructures and the urban environment, which recently came under the control of Ambienta sgr (see another article by BeBeez).
Finally, we would like to remind you that at the beginning of April Solution Bank signed an agreement with SACE, joining on the one hand a SACE Green guarantee, aimed at supporting Italian companies, with a turnover of up to 500 million euros, in acquiring financing for eco-sustainable projects, thus contributing to the ecological transition of the national entrepreneurial fabric; and on the other a Future Guaranteeaddressed to all Italian companies, with particular attention to SMEs and female entrepreneurs, to finance their expansion through access to global markets, the development of infrastructures, technological and digital innovation, investments in areas economically disadvantaged, as well as interventions to reduce seismic and hydrogeological risk (see the press release here).
 secures 5 million euros from Solution Bank (SC Lowy)){kind=link}