At CL Grupo Industrial, we have reached an agreement to acquire Grupo Gallardo Balboa from the investment fund KKR, the owner until now of the group created by the Extremaduran businessman Alfonso Gallardo. The steel group, one of the largest industrial groups in Extremadura, will be integrated into CL Grupo Industrial.
In the transaction, CL Grupo Industrial will assume financial commitments worth 145 million euros, including a capital increase of 70 million euros, in addition to Grupo Gallardo Balboa’s working capital facilities. With immediate effect, CL Grupo Industrial will inject 30 million euros in order to guarantee the purchase of raw materials and keep production active at all of Gallardo Balboa’s production centres. This injection guarantees payment in full to suppliers, both commercial suppliers and raw material suppliers. In addition, the Leal family’s holding company guarantees the retention of Grupo Gallardo’s current workforce.
The aim of CL Grupo Industrial is to implement an industrial plan that strengthens Grupo Gallardo Balboa and turns it into a benchmark in the steel sector in the European market. “After the Covid-19 crisis, we are convinced that what Extremadura and Spain need is a strong commitment to the country’s reindustrialisation in order to reduce our dependence on Asian markets,” says Miguel Ángel Leal, CEO of our Industry Division. “The acquisition of Grupo Gallardo Balboa forms part of the strategy of applying our own management method to industrial companies that are facing difficulties, but that have a market and a future,” he adds. At CL Grupo Industrial, we have already turned around major companies such as GES in the Basque Country, also with a workforce of 800 employees.
Support from employees, trade unions and the Regional Government of Extremadura
We greatly value the support of the employees and trade unions of Grupo Balboa Gallardo, who have consistently expressed their backing for our offer, considering it key to consolidating jobs and the prosperity of the region itself. Likewise, we are grateful for the involvement of the entire Regional Government of Extremadura throughout the negotiations.
Finally, we would like to highlight the support received during the negotiations from the financial consultancy Duff & Phelps and the rest of the advisers, whose role proved essential in bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion. A negotiation that allows us to consolidate our position as an industrial benchmark at national level and which, moreover, represents the guarantee of a prosperous future for Extremadura’s economy.