CF Group
Cognos Germany advises the CF Group (in the legal form of Chemoform AG) in arranging its debut syndicated finance arrangement
As part of its financial restructuring, the CF Group decided to reorganize its corporate finance, which exhibited a strongly regional nature. Wintergerst provided a full suite of advisory services in the course of arranging the debut syndicated financing arrangement.
Chemoform AG, based in Wendlingen, is one of the leaders in the European market for swimming pools and wellness solutions. In addition to water care products, complete swimming pool systems and the associated technology count among its broad product range. With over 1,100 employees in over 50 countries, Chemoform generates revenue of over EUR 300 million. Due to the success of its growth strategy and the acquisition of the Belgian/Dutch Starline Group last year, there were calls to restructure the strongly regional financing arrangements within the group. In response, the CF Group decided to refinance the current acquisition financing and the working capital financing arrangements for the various entities of the group within the framework of a syndicated financing arrangement at the level of the holding company.
The major challenge was to give the group of companies sufficient financial headroom to implement the continuing business expansion strategy and make the complexity of the international group more transparent for lenders. In addition to its principal bank, with which it has done business for many years, it was possible to sign up other banks in the relevant markets of Germany, France and Austria to the syndicate. With a term of up to seven years and options to significantly raise the amount of lending, the financing structure is now tailored perfectly to the needs of the group.
