The Government was already contemplating a possible sale of Pachá when it granted the rescue

The public entity that granted the rescue of 18 million to Pachá took into account before approving the aid the risk that Trilantic, the fund that has the majority shareholding of the group of nightclubs, decided to sell its shares. This is how Cofides sources have assured this newspaper after learning of the fund’s intention to put the empire of the night up for sale just nine months after receiving the lifeboat from the Sánchez government. Sources close to the entity dependent on the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, assure that since Trilantic is a venture capital fund, “with a limited investment time horizon”, the scenario of a possible sale “was identified, analyzed and was cautioned in the financing contract. That is to say, the Government was aware that the Pachá Group could be put up for sale after receiving the 18 million euros of the public rescue, although these same sources assure that they had “no knowledge of any process of sale of company shares”. The controversy over the rescue continues to orbit around the Government and the company. The announcement of the aid to the leisure group at the end of last year already raised a dustup between the opposition and businessmen, in a context where the bailout tap seemed closed and the business fabric remained drowned by debts and inflation that was already devastating the corporate liabilities. “Operational needs” Cofides assures in its 2021 accounts that the approval was intended “to cover the company’s operational needs that allow the development of its business plan.” A business plan where, however, it seems that a possible sale operation was not being considered. In any case, from Cofides they assure that a possible change of hands of the shares of the nightlife company cannot be carried out without their consent, since the 18 million euros of public support came through a participatory loan, which allows them to intervene in that case. Gymnasiums, restaurants or ice cream companies have received aid Unlike SEPI, the Recapitalization Fund (Fonrec) was not intended to save strategic companies from bankruptcy, but rather smaller companies with financing needs of less than the 25 million. Among the companies rescued by Cofides there are the most varied sectors. From nightclubs like Pachá, to gym chains like BeOne or Altafit; restaurant groups like Eating Group, and even ice makers like Procubitos Europe. In total, the Fonrec has distributed 779 million euros to 89 companies during the year it was in operation. Which has meant having granted 78% of the 1,000 million that it had available to distribute to companies. They also explain that the financial obligations of the Pachá Group to the Cofides Recapitalization Fund (Fonrec) would not be modified by the potential departure of its reference shareholder, as with the rest of the creditors. In other words, it would be the buyer who would have to deal with the debt with the State if it is not settled at the time of the operation. “These clauses protect the State’s investment and ensure that the resources are used according to the purposes of the fund and repaid according to the agreed conditions,” these sources clarify. Trilantic became the majority shareholder of the Pachá Group in 2017, when it reached an agreement with the founder of the two cherries group, Ricardo Urgell, to acquire a majority stake for 350 million euros. The fund has its origins in five partners who worked for Lehman Brothers, the financial services company whose bankruptcy is considered to be the beginning of the financial crisis of 2008. They leave in five years Normally these investments have an expiration date. Funds like Trilantic usually hold their assets for a period of around five years. Afterwards, they sell their participation with the aim of obtaining a return. A process that the fund is about to complete in Pachá. The Executive was aware of this when it approved the granting of aid of 18 million euros for the nightlife giant. All options are open at the moment. But the truth is that the US fund that controls the majority shareholding of the company based in the Balearic Islands is beginning to look for a buyer, as ABC published last week. While Trilantic assures that they have simply started a process to find an investment partner to help the group in its global expansion process, internal Pacha sources point out that the sale process has been open “for some time.” These same sources recall that at the beginning of the year, a few weeks after closing the granting of public aid, Trilantic already threatened to launch a selection process to find a buyer for the group. So, the talks did not come to fruition, in part due to the uncertainty experienced by a leisure sector that had not yet been completely freed from the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus. Now the situation is different and from the bottom they try to find an operation driven by the growth of the group during the summer, when it has reached record levels of activity in cities like Ibiza or Mykonos. In addition, at the end of the year there is usually an acceleration of business operations, a context that the venture capital fund wants to take advantage of.