Italy’s private equity weekly roundup. News from Ferretti, Columna Capital, Plurima, Nextalia, Tages Capital, Ardian and more

Ferretti, the iconic Italian yachts producer that belongs to Chinese conglomerate Weichai, is going to list on Hong Kong market through the placement of 83.5 million shares (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The company aims to launche a capital increase and raise 1.822 – 2.359 billion HK Dollars (211 – 273 million euros including the over-allotment option) or 21,82 – 28,24 HK Dollars per share (2,53-3,27 euros) for listing a 25% (without the greenshoe option) with a market capitalization of 7.258 – 9.45 billion HK Dollars (845 million – 1.1 billion euros). Weichai Holding owns 86.06% of Ferretti since 2012. The company will invest at least 70% of the raised proceeds in expanding its portfolio of products. The ipo will allow Ferretti to have new shareholders. Piero Ferrari has 11.14% of the business.   Weichai had invested in the yacht group in early 2012, as part of a complex debt restructuring process. At the time, the Chinese group had invested 178 million euros in equity and at the same time bought Ferretti’s debt from the Oaktree fund, from RBS and from Strategic Value Partners (SVP) and converted then the debt into equity. So Weichai reached a 75% stake in Ferretti’s capital. At the same time, RBS and SVP had converted the rest of the debt into equity, reaching a 25% stake. Weichai subsequently rounded up its stake and in 2016 Piero Ferrari bought 13.6%. All this happened after the great crisis experienced by Ferretti at the turn of 2008. We recall that in the golden age, in 2006, Permira had sold 52% of Ferretti to Candover (maintaining an 8% stake, while the founder Norberto Ferretti and the managers had risen to 40%), on the basis of a valuation of 1.7 billion euros, when revenues were 770.4 million euros at the end of the 2006 fiscal year (August) and the ebitda was 118.4 millions (see here a previous article by BeBeez).

Columna Capital invested more than 120 million euros for acquiring MSA Multi Serass and Acclaims, two providers of business process outsourcing services for the insurance sector (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Giovanni Campus, the head of MSA, Fabio Piras and Alessandro Sebastiani will keep hold a minority of the new group. Campus will act as coo fo MSA and ceo fo Acclaims. Carlo Dawan, the head of investment banking of Alantra, acted as financial advisor to Msa and Acclaims. Banca Ifis and Banco Bpm financed the buyer. MSA has revenues of 17.6 million euros, an ebitda of minus 1.6 million, net profits of 3.6 million, and net cash of 14.6 million. Acclaims has a turnover of 3.9 million, an ebitda of 1.8 million and net cash of 1.5 millioni.  

Poste Italiane acquired 70% of  Plurima, a provider of healthcare logistic services that belongs to Siparex and the Marconi Family (who will keep a 30%), on the ground of an enterprise value of 130 million euros (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Luca Marconi and Fabio Luppino will keep their roles of executive chairman and ceo. Plurima attracted the interest of Chequers Capital, Clessidra, Iter Capital, Fondo Italiano d’Investimento, and Nextalia. In January 2019, Siparex acquired a 31% of Plurima from the Marconi family.  

TIM, Leonardo, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Sogei tabled their joint bid for building Polo Strategico Nazionale (PSN), an Italian infrastructure for the cloud management of data of the public administration (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In addition, Almaviva-Aruba tabled a rival bid for the projects. The winner of the call for tender must invest 723 million euros to provide public and private cloud services through a joint venture that the successful bidders will sign.  We recall that if the TIM-Cdp-Leonardo-Sogei consortium were to win the race, this would represent one more reason for KKR‘s interest in TIM, which at that point would win a crucial match in the development of digital technology in Italy. We recall that about ten days ago the board of directors of TIM decided to continue negotiations with KKR who last November had presented to TIM’s BoD a non-binding and indicative expression of interest to launch a takeover bid on 100% of the group’s ordinary and savings shares, with the aim of delisting, at the indicative price of 50, 5 cents per ordinary or savings share, to be paid entirely in cash, for a total, therefore, of approximately 11 billion euros (see here a previous article by BeBeez).

Nextalia, the private equity that Francesco Canzonieri launched, acquired 60% of First Advisory, a tech platform for distributing insurance solutions for the European wealth management sector (see here a previous post by BeBeez). First Advisory, born in 2010, brokers more than 27 billion euros and has revenues of 31.4 million, an ebitda of 5.2 million and a net financial debt of 13.3 million. Massimiliano Merlo, Giuseppe Frascà, Lorenzo Fanti, Renato Lot, Riello Investimenti Partners (RIP), and a club deal sold part of their stakes and will reinvest for a minority of Nextalia. Merlo said that the company aims to grow through M&A. 

The sale of Irca, a B2B producer of ingredients and semifinished items for sweets that belongs to Carlyle since 2017, is gaining momentum (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Carlyle asked potential bidders to table offers on the ground a value of above one billion euros by April. BNP Paribas and Rothschild are handling the sale. BeBeez previously reported that Irca’s enterprise value of at least 800 million. In 2017, Carlyle acquired 97% of Irca frmo Ardian for 520 million.  

Milan-listed utility A2A and Ardian Infrastructure called off their talks for a partnership worth 4.5 billion euros because of the energy market volatility that the war in Ukraine boosted (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Ardian and A2A aimed to create a distributor of electric energy out of renewable sources.  

Tages Capital, an investor in renewable energy that Panfilo Tarantelli and Sergio Ascolani created, and an independent operator acquired 16 photovoltaic plants based in the South of Italy with a power of 12.5 MW from Denmark’s Athena Investments (See here a previous post by BeBeez). The Rovati Family owns Athena.  

Eiffel Essentiel, a private equity with a focus on energetic transition, invested 7 million euros in GreenGo, a renewable energy producer through the purchase of share and the subscription of a capital increase (See here a previous post by BeBeez). GreenGo is part of  FIMM. After the acquisition of Eiffel, GreenGo left Giuseppe Mastropieri in his ceo role and appointed as director Fabio Amico and Thibault Vanpeene. Eiffel Essentiel has assets under management of 4 billion euros.  

Bruin Sports Capital appointed Evercore as financial advisor for handling the sale of Deltatre, a provider of statistics and data for sport (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In 2020, the fund appointed the same M&A firm for selling the asset on the ground of an enterprise value of one billion US Dollars, but later called off the auction for the coronoavirus turmoil. Deltatre attracted the interest of Eqt, Ardian, Permira, Bc Partners, Apax, and Bain Capital. The company has sales of 41.7 million euros, an ebitda of minus 1.5 million, net losses of 8.6 million, and net losses of 3.9 million.  

Itaca Equity, an investiment holding of which Tamburi Investment Partners (Tip) owns 40%, will acquire a minority of Milan-listed Landi Renzo, an Italian producer of automotive components, through the subscription of the 60 million euros company’s capital increase for up to 39.4 million (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The company’s ceo Cristiano Musi will invest 0.3 million. The Landi family will keep at least 51% of the controlling holding. The company will invest the raised proceeds in expanding its activity to the biomethane and hydrogen value chain: from production to transport, from compression to refuelling..  

The Magnet Group, an US-based producer of promotional magnets and vendor of paper diaries and notebooks, acquired Italy’s Lindocastelli, a manufacturer of stationery products, from Errediesse, a subsidiary of Spreafin which belongs to the Spreafico family (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Magnet is a portfolio company of TMG Capital, a private equity that the company’s founders launched in 2015.  

Alpha Test, a publishing house that belongs to White Bridge Investments, acquired a controlling stake in Scuola Notarile Viggiani, Scuola Legale Viggiani, and Scuola di Magistratura Viggiani and merged them in Law Camp, a provider of training for legal professions (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Sources said to BeBeez that Raffaele Viggiani sold a 60% of the assets and kept a 40%. Alpha Test aims to generate revenues of 30 million euros by 2023. In July 2020, White Bridge acquired a majority of the business from Aksìa Capital who purchased a 70% stake from Alcedo and co-founders AlbertoSironi, Renato Sironi, Massimiliano Bianchini, Paolo Colusso, and Stefano Bertocchi.  

HOFI (Holding Funeraria Italiana), a company that belongs to Augens Capital and BMO Global Asset Management, acquired 70.25% of Italian competitor SIOF & Lomellina (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Assunta Baldiraghi, Giancarlo Bertolio and Nicole Izzo will keep a minority of SIOF and their management roles. SIOF has sales of 3.7 million euros.  

Cadicagroup, an Italian producer of labels for high-end fashion firms that belongs to Hig Capital, acquired Italian competitor Varcotex from the Munari Family who will reinvest for a minority of the buyer, sources said to BeBeez (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Varcotex has sales of 7.7 million euros, an ebitda of 0.7 million and a net debt of 1.5 million.  

De Wave, a producer of furniture for cruise ships that belongs to Platinum Equity, acquired Italian competitor Tecnavi from Genova Industrie Navali (Gin), a company born out of the merger of Cantieri Mariotti and San Giorgio del Porto (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Gin acquired 9% of Tecnavi from the ceo Stefano Costa for 1.08 million euros and sold the whole company to De Wave for 9.5 million. Tecnavi owns US-based Florida Marine Industries and has sales of 7.3 million, an ebitda of one million and net cash of 4.1 million. De Wave has revenues of 300 million. Xenon Private Equity acquired the company in 2017 through a management buy out with the support of ceo Giovanni Battista Bozzo who purchased a 3% and in 2019 sold a majority stake to Platinum Equity.  

Lincotek, a metal processing company based in Italy that belongs to The Equity Club (TEC), is going to acquire the majority of the medical division of Pegasus, a producer of orthopaedic devices (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Alberto Alaria, a member of the eponymous Family that sold the asset, will be the managing director of the newco. Pegasus has sales of 19.8 million euros, an ebitda of 1.2 million and a net financial debt of 8.7 million. In 2021, TEC acquired 24% of Lincotek while the Antolotti Family kept a 76%. The company raised 200 million for investments and M&A transactions. Roberto Ferraresi and Gianmarco Gandolfi, the ceo and a senior partner of TEC, joined Lincotek’s board. Lincotek has sales of 157 million with an ebitda of 21.8 million.