bd-capital has created the leader in the manufacture of tennis and padel courts from the merger of Padel Courts Deluxe with GreenSet in the Rakit Group holding, in which it will have a majority stake.
GreenSet’s shareholders and Padel Courts Deluxe’s shareholders will continue as minority shareholders in the holding company of the group (Rakit Group), and Javier Sánchez Vicario and Fernando Cánovas, for their part, will remain as CEOs of GreenSet and Padel Courts Deluxe, respectively, working alongside with bd-capital. Rakit Group was born with the aim of becoming the provider of the best game facilities in the world of racket.
GreenSet is the world leader and global reference for tennis hardcourt surfaces, represented at the Australian Open, Davis Cup, ATP Tour Finals, the Olympic Games, and many other leading tournaments, clubs and universities around the world.
Padel Courts Deluxe is a leading provider of premium padel courts, offering cutting edge design and innovative fabrication through its own manufactured products.
bd-capital has partnered with the teams at GreenSet and Padel Courts Deluxe with a single aim: to become the partner of choice and provider of the best playing facilities to the worldwide racquets industry.
Rakit Group growth is underpinned by both the exponential structural growth in the padel industry, being one of the fastest growing sports in the world, in parallel with the continued growth and increasing levels of quality and consistency required in tournament tennis.
Nick Basing, Operating Partner at bd-capital, has become the new chairman of Rakit Group, and commented, “I feel very excited about working with two great entrepreneurs with great business models to pursue one great vision”. Nick has extensive knowledge and expertise of the global racquet industry, is currently a non-executive member of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and was a non-executive Director on the Board of The Championships, Wimbledon. He is also a Board Advisor and founding shareholder at WePlay, a digital growth marketing agency to the sports industry.
Alejo Vidal-Quadras, partner and head of Southern Europe at bd-capital, added “I feel very positive about the future for Rakit Group. We approached GreenSet and Padel Courts Deluxe because we saw the opportunity to create something new and unique, and after 12 months of discussions, we agreed to join arms and in partnership build a new global leader in racquet courts and surfaces”.
Javier Sánchez-Vicario, CEO of GreenSet, added “This is a unique opportunity to unleash the power of a great brand and help take it to its next stage of modernisation and global expansion, while expanding its footprint beyond tennis”.
Fernando Cánovas, CEO of Padel Courts Deluxe said “with the support of bd-capital’s sector and international expertise, and GreenSet positioning, we are excited to have the opportunity to unlock even more growth in what is already a rapidly growing padel market”.
bd-capital executed the transaction in close partnership with advisory teams from Herbert Smith Freehills (legal), KPMG (financial and tax), Monitor Deloitte (commercial), AON (insurance) and SLR (ESG).
Padel Courts Deluxe was advised by PwC and GreenSet by Javier Val Abogados.
PwC Tax & Legal advised Padel Courts Deluxe on this deal with a Corporate/M&A team formed by Iván Echevarría (director), Begoña Vives (senior associate) and Miguel Ángel Cantos (asenior associate) and a Tax team formed by Inmaculada Pascual (director), Luis Mirete (manager) and Cristina Manzano (senior associate).
Herbert Smith Freehills Spain advised bd-capital on the acquisition of GreenSet and Padel Courts Deluxe with a team formed by partner Pablo García-Nieto Nubiola, of counsel Alvaro Gross Gasset and Marta Esteban, senior associates Amparo de Leyva Mérida and Miguel Ángel Barroso López, and lawyers Alejandro Grima Margarit, Álvaro Silva López, Pablo de Vega Tremps, Teresa de Oriol Cebreros, Marta Montero, Ricardo Echevarría González and Lucía Taracena Figar.
