TRANSACTION SUMMARY

On 16 June 2025, Unicaja Banco (“Unicaja”) announced a strategic partnership with Zenon Asset Management (“Zenon”) to strengthen private lending solutions for businesses across Spain. The partnership involves a LP commitment and GP acquisition framework, to be executed in stages, with future phases remaining at Unicaja’s discretion.

This collaboration also includes the launch of Seneca Direct Lending, SICC, a new private investment vehicle dedicated to financing Spanish businesses, which will be managed by Unicaja Asset Management (formerly Unigest), with investment advice from Zenon. This new vehicle will start with an initial capital commitment to be deployed exclusively in private lending to SMEs and Small Mid-caps. Unicaja and Zenon intend to further expand their private lending activities through this alliance, deploying capital from the bank alongside funding from institutional investors.

As part of this agreement, Unicaja will initially acquire a minority stake in Zenon, with the option to increase its ownership in the future.

UNICAJA

Unicaja is one of the leading banks in Spain, and a listed company on the IBEX 35. As of March 2025, the bank manages €97bn in assets and €92bn in customer funds (€69bn on balance sheet and €23bn off balance sheet). With 952 branches and approximately 4 million clients, Unicaja Banco maintains a leading presence across six Spanish regions.

ZENON

Zenon specialises in private debt management with a focus on sponsorless transactions and family-owned companies. The team has raised more than €1bn from institutional investors. Operating from Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia, it maintains strong direct relationships throughout Spain. The firm has been recognised as Best SME Lender in Europe (2018 and 2021) and runner-up in 2022 in the Private Debt Investor’s Awards.

ROLE

SHP acted as financial adviser to Unicaja.