CFI advised Portobello Capital on the acquisition of a majority stake in Centauro Rent a Car

Madrid – CFI acted as the exclusive corporate finance advisor to Portobello Capital (“Portobello”), in the acquisition of a majority stake in Centauro Rent a Car, S.L. (“Centauro” or the “Company”).

Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Benidorm, Centauro is one of the leading off-airport rent-a-car operators in Spain and Portugal with fifteen branches located in key tourism destinations on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coast. The Company manages a fleet of over 18,000 vehicles. In 2016, it generated a turnover of EUR 66m and budgeted EUR 81m for 2017. Centauro works closely with relevant international automakers and focuses on the quality and price of its services.

Portobello is a leading private equity fund manager in the Spanish Mid-Market. Its Capital Fund III, the largest in Spain in recent years, was closed in 2014 at EUR 375m, thus far invested in Vitalia Home (elderly care homes), IAN (canned vegetables and ready-to-eat meals under the Carretilla brand), EYSA (technology services and solutions aimed at improving mobility in cities), Iberconsa (frozen seafood products), Laulagun Bearings (large bearings for windmills), Ramón Sabater (processing and distribution of paprika, spices and herbs) and Trison (digital signage).

Tikehau IM (Paris: TKO), a leading pan European asset manager and subsidiary of Tikehau Capital, arranged a unitranche debt financing arrangement in support of Portobello’s acquisition of Centauro.

Following the acquisition, Portobello will support management, headed by Mr. Devesa, with its clear gorwth strategy by building a leading operator in the off-airport niche in Southern Europe through organic expansion and further consolidation in a fragmented space. It will pursue the entry into new geographies

The transaction was closed in April 2017.