Stefano Bellani

Partner, Milan

Biography

Overview

Stefano Bellani is a partner in the Milan office with 15 years of experience. His main area of practice is Debt Finance advising borrowers, sponsors, banks and debt providers on high profile debt finance transactions. Stefano's practice covers the whole spectrum of debt finance products, with particular focus on leveraged finance transactions and all major types of private investments, including unitranche, senior, second-lien, mezzanine and PIK debt financings, as well as preferred equity and warrants. He also advises clients in relation to high yield debt offerings and project finance transactions. Stefano has been recognized as a Rising Star in Banking & Finance both for borrower and lender/arranger side by The Legal 500 2024.

Prior to joining White & Case, Stefano practiced in UK and Italian law firms where he gained a considerable experience in banking and finance work.

Bars and Courts
Italian Bar
Education
Law degree
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Milan, Italy

Languages
Italian
English
French

Experience

Private Credit & Direct Lending

Ardian's €200 million financing for the acquisition of US Pharma Lab, 2023
Stefano advised the debt providers on the financing for the acquisition by Biofarma, controlled by Ardian, of US Pharma Lab from through the issuance of €200 million senior secured notes issued in euros and US dollars by Kepler S.p.A., Biofarma's parent company, and Biofarma Delawere LLC, its indirect subsidiary.

Stirling Square Capital Partners' €35 million PIK financing for the acquisition of Tapì, 2023
Stefano advised Tikehau Investment Management SAS in connection with the €35 million PIK financing for the acquisition of Tapì S.p.A., company leader in the production of closures cap, by Stirling Square Capital Partners.

Ardian's €109 million financing for the acquisition of Assist Digital, 2022
Stefano advised Tikehau Investment Management SAS in connection with the €109 million financing for the acquisition of Assist Digital S.p.A., a company developing digital CRM services, by Ardian France S.A.

Pedemontana's €450 million financing, 2022
Stefano advised Global Infrastructure Partners in connection with a €450 million investment in senior secured notes of Superstrada Pedemontana Veneta a 96km greenfield toll road project in the final stages of construction in the Veneto Region of Italy.

Deutsche Beteiligungs' financing for the acquisition of MTW Holding, 2022
Stefano advised funds managed by BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited in connection with the financing for the acquisition of MTW Holding S.p.A., a leading metal accessories manufacturer group for luxury fashion products, through the issuance by Metalworks Bidco S.p.A. of senior secured floating rate notes, by Deutsche Beteiligungs AG, through its DBAG Fund VIII.

Clessidra's financing for the acquisition of the Impresoft, 2022
Stefano advised Clessidra SGR S.p.A. in connection with the issuance of senior secured notes financing for the acquisition of the Impresoft Group.

Gyrus' €60 million financing for the acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers Public Sector, 2021
Stefano advised Tikehau in connection with the structuring and underwriting of €60 million senior secured floating rate notes due 2028 issued by an indirect subsidiary of Gyrus for the purpose of acquisition of PricewaterhouseCoopers Public Sector S.r.l. and refinancing the existing indebtedness thereof.

Whysol Renewables' €30 million financing, 2019
Stefano advised affiliates of Brookfield Asset Management in connection with the structuring and underwriting of €30 million senior secured fixed rate notes due 2027 issued by Whysol Renewables Holding 1 S.p.A. The proceeds of the notes will be applied directly or indirectly towards general corporate purposes of the group to which Whysol Renewables Holding 1 S.p.A. belongs.

Italcer's €133 million financing for the acquisition of Ceramica Rondine, 2018
Stefano advised Pemberton Asset Management in connection with the structuring and underwriting of €133 million senior secured floating rate notes due 2024 issued by Italcer S.p.A. for the acquisition by Italcer S.p.A. of Ceramica Rondine S.p.A.

Stirling Square Capital's financing for theacquisition of Isoclima, 2017
Stefano advised Pemberton and Crédit Agricole FriulAdria in connection with the financing for the acquisition of Isoclima S.p.A. by Stirling Square Capital Partners.

Bain Capital's financing for the acquisition of Fintyre, 2017
Stefano advised GSO Capital Partners in connection with the purchase of €130 million secured guaranteed PIK notes due 2024 issued by Neo (BC) S.p.A. (now merged into Fintyre S.p.A.) for the acquisition of Fintyre S.p.A. by private equity company Bain Capital.

Corporate and acquisition financings

Stirling Square Capital Partners' €146 million financing for the acquisition of Tapì, 2023
Stefano advised the lenders in connection with a €146 million senior term and revolving credit facilities agreement to finance the acquisition of Tapì S.p.A., company leader in the production of closures cap, and its subsidiaries by Stirling Square Capital Partners.

Acciaieria Arvedi's €850 million financing for the acquisition of Acciai Speciali Terni, 2022
Stefano advised a pool of lenders in connection with a €850 million term, bridge-to-bond and revolving loan facility to Acciaieria Arvedi S.p.A. for the acquisition of Acciai Speciali Terni S.p.A., Thyssenkrupp Stainless GmbH and Thyssenkrupp Stainless Turkey Metal Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S from Thyssenkrupp.

Tod's' VTO €420 million VTO financing, 2022
Stefano advised BNL-BNP Paribas Group, Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank and Deutsche Bank in connection with a €420 million financing to a vehicle controlled by the Della Valle family to fund the voluntary tender offer for all the ordinary shares of Tod's S.p.A. with the aim of delisting the company.

CVC's financing for the acquisition of Maticmind, 2022
Stefano advised CVC Capital Partners in connection with the €250 million senior loan financing for their investment in Maticmind, an Italian IT company focused on proprietary intelligence technologies and integrated solutions in networking, cybersecurity, datacentres, cloud solutions and IoT.

Ambienta's financing for the acquisition of Calpeda, 2022
Stefano advised the lenders in connection with a senior term and revolving credit facility entered into by Ambienta SGR to finance the acquisition of Calpeda S.p.A., a global manufacturer of pumps, motors and systems for the integrated water cycle.

Open Fiber's €7 billion project financing, 2021
Stefano advised Open Fiber S.p.A. in connection with its €7 billion financing. The new facility replaces the previous €4.145 billion project financing entered into in 2018 and increased in 2020. The pool of banks included Banco BPM, BNP Paribas, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Crédit Agricole, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Santander, Société Générale and UniCredit.

Clessidra SGR's €160 million financing for the acquisition of Casa Vinicola Botter, 2021
Stefano advised a pool of banks in connection with the €160 million senior term and revolving credit facility entered into by the private equity fund Clessidra SGR to finance the acquisition of Casa Vinicola Botter S.p.A.

High Yield Bonds

Diocle's €470 financing for the acquisition of DOC Generici, 2019
Stefano advised BNP Paribas and UniCredit Bank, as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, and Crédit Agricole CIB, as joint bookrunner, in connection with the issuance of €470 million floating rate senior secured notes due 2026 by Diocle S.p.A. to finance its acquisition of DOC Generici.

Awards and Recognition

Banking & Finance
Rising star: The Legal 500 2024