(Bloomberg) -- Italian coffee machine maker Caffitaly SpA is looking to strike a debt restructuring deal with its lenders and shareholders. 

The company has been focusing on talks with banks and its owners — private equity fund Alpha Group and investment holding company Compagnie Nationale a Portefeuille — as a search for new external capital has yet to attract suitable offers, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The deal currently under discussion would entail financial support from the shareholders, while banks would convert a part of their exposure into equity-like instruments to lighten the debt load, the people said. 

Caffitaly, via its advisers at Houlihan Lokey Inc., has been seeking about €40 million ($43 million) from third-party investors. The process yielded some interest but this hasn’t led to a concrete solution for now, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. 

Fresh third-party capital could still be an option in the future, but in the meantime Caffitaly has to address its looming debt maturities, the people added.

In parallel to the new money search, the company had also kept working on the option of a restructuring with its existing stakeholders, they said. 

A representative for Caffitaly has declined to comment. Spokespeople for Alpha Group and Compagnie Nationale a Portefeuille didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Loans Due

Caffitaly has over €150 million in bank loans, including a €130 million facility coming due in October. That facility was granted by a group of banks led by BNP Paribas SA. 

The company is due to give an update on its discussions with creditors at a hearing with a Bologna tribunal scheduled for July 17, according to a company filing seen by Bloomberg News. 

Caffitaly has been struggling in recent years, with a loss of €4 million in 2022. The firm, which also makes coffee capsules, has suffered from a rise in raw material costs following the war in Ukraine. Greater competition in Italy and the breakage of a factory roasting machine also hit profits and weighed on operations in 2023. 

Alpha Group is a mid-market-focused fund, while Compagnie Nationale a Portefeuille is controlled by the Belgian Frere-Bourgeois family.

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