"Natural stone activities have definitely gone global"
Cipriano Gómez, CEO of Grupo Levantina: "This deal is a trendsetting landmark in the course towards the strengthening of the industry"
Currently faced with further challenges, Cipriano Gómez, new CEO of Grupo Levantina, knows thoroughly well all the ins and outs when it comes to achieving his goals. He does not hesitate to define the recently completed transaction as "an exceptional industrial plan that allows us to have a veritable - and much-expected - global leader among Spanish companies". An international viewpoint seems to be one of the particular traits of the CEO as "steady growth rates are a must and there is much more than Spain in world markets", and the first step to realise this state of affairs is to consolidate as a single company. Dealing with the troubles of the everyday working life, carrying out complex procedures and the issue of how to achieve a dynamic involvement in trade bodies are some of his own personal factors that "reveal how demanding is the challenge at Levantina and also explain the need for a full-time commitment".
We could say, broadly speaking, that a highly signifi cant transaction has been completed. When did you entered the project?
Cipriano Gómez: I didn't come in until the final stage of the transaction. I actually joined the project in January and the plan - as far as technical sides are concerned - was completed on May 5, so although I didnt have the chance of having a role in the most important chapters in the transaction, I am indeed informed of the way procedures evolved The deal is said to be the most important venture capital initiative of those carried out in Spain in 2006.
Could you tell us about its development?
It is widely known that venture capital firms raise and manage funds that will be placed in selected companies. These companies are chosen according to their growth potential and their short-to-mid term latent values. Grupo Levantina was constituted as an assemblage of companies whose common factor was their shareholder structure (composed of families from the Spanish Levant and Galicia). Capital firms were attracted both by the conglomerate style of Grupo Levantina and by the excellent prospects entailed in that organization. Parties started negotiations and quickly reached a sense of cooperation as there were solid fundamentals in the corporate and industrial respects. Just one year later, talks came to a successful conclusion.
So, what is the shareholder structure resulting from the agreement?
The share capital is held by two venture capital fi rms and a minority shareholder group made up of those former owners who decided to invest again in the firm.
What about figures?
In terms of corporate value the transaction amounts to about EUR 500 million. In 2005 sales rose to EUR 340 million and the Ebitda was EUR 78 million on a pro forma basis.
What are the challenges for the future?
We are moving on several fronts. As for financial field and back office functions our goal is to act as a single company. Accordingly, we need to introduce common IT systems, identical patterns for accounting and management functions and a uniform cash flow model as well. And this takes time. The second "big challenge" is to work out the best way to complete the merging of the companies included in the agreement. Moreover, we have to build and coordinate our new operating structure with a sales network to be designed a new under unified management. Concerning production details, we have also devised a single structure for both the marble and granite areas. In a manner of speaking, the scheme of our corporate organisation has been topped off and clarified.
Do you think you were faced with the most complex set of measures to be taken to date?
Designing plans is easy but putting them into practice is the hard part. Carrying out corporate and industrial functions according to plan is a rather difficult task. However, we have made much progress, partly because of the fact that market conditions are currently favourable. For the time being, this has allowed us to work calmly without much pressure.
Beyond these practical measures, what are your corporate strategies as a group of companies?
Our most relevant intent is to become a genuine global company. We want to be able to be a global manufacturing company with international suppliers. Consequently, widening our commercial structure and strengthening our warehouse network are among our priorities when it comes to achieve that global quality. Additionally, the launch of "Technoclassic", the new product range part of our brand Naturamia - a combination of ceramic and marble items - should act as technology and growth assets to push our products into the ceramic product market. This launch provides our company with huge possibilities.