Made in Italy Fund, a private equity that Quadrivio manages with Pambianco, acquired 60% of high-end cosmetics company Rougj from Antonio Pirillo, Marco Giraldi, Alessandro Fier, and Ettore Favia, who definitely exited the business (see here a previous post by BeBeez). RiverRock Italian Hybrid Capital Fund received a reimbursement of the financing it provided in November 2017 for the management buy-in of Rougj. The company has sales of above 15 million euros with an ebitda of more than 3 million.
US-based mid-cap private equity fund One Equity Partners acquired 40% of Nexion, a company that produces equipment for tyre dealers and garages (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Nexion generates abroad 75% of its 220 million sales and in March 2019 it acquired Danish STENHØJ. One Equity Partners was born in June 2013 out of a spin-off of private equity activities of JP Morgan and its portfolio includes Italy’s Lutech. In July 2016, the fund sold its stake in Engineering.
Xenon acquired the majority of Koverlux, a painting services provider for the fashion sector, from the founders Giuseppe and Luca Vittorio Cerea and B4 Investimenti (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The Cerea brothers will keep heading the company as they reinvested in Koverlux together with other managers. Xenon aims to create an integrated pole for the sector of tannery an painting for fashion. Koverlux has sales of 8 million euros and an ebitda of 1.98 million. B4 Investimenti recently sold its stake in Agrimaster, a producer of agricoltural machinery that acquired from Alcedo in September 2017. These two dispolsals allowed the company to gain a median cash multiple of above 4.5 x the investment ginving the investors of B4 a 1.5 X return, said Fabrizio Baroni
Apollo Global Management acquired 66.97% milan-listed gambling company Gamenet and will soon launch a public offer on the remaining shares for delisting the company (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Apollo Management will buy 28.7% of Gamenet from Trilantic Capital Partners Europe and the Chiarva Family, and 20% from Intralot Italian Investments for 189.8 million euros (before the closing the sale price was of 182.5 million)., Non executive directors of Gamenet Paolo Ernesto Agrifoglio, Marco Conte, Giacomo Pignatti Morano, and Nikolaos I. Nikolakopoulos resigned together with directors Vittorio Pignatti Morano Campori and Giacinto D’Onofrio. The company appointed non executive director Andrea Moneta, Michele Rabà , Michael Ian Saffer, and independent director John Paul Maurice Bowtell. Gamenet merged with Intralot Italia in 2016 and acquired Goldbet in 2018. The company financed the transaction with a senior secured bond of 225 million due to mature in 2023. Gamenet has sales of 646.14 million euros and an ebitda of 104.71 million.
F2i’s EF Solare Italia acquired Spain’s renewable energy Renovalia for an enterprise value in the region of 700 million euros (see here a previous post by BeBeez). EF Solare Italia recently refinanced a portfolio of 118 MW with credit lines of 320 million from Banca Imi (Intesa Sanpaolo), Banco Bpm, Bnp Paribas, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Crédit Agricole, and Société Générale. Earlier in January, EF Solare acquired 31 photovoltaic plants based in Italy. The company belongs to In December 2018, F2i  acquired 50% of the company from Enel Green Power.
Rotolito, a graphic company that prints iconic Italian comincs Tex and Diabolik, acquired Italian competitors Inprint Litorama and Litorama (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The targets have sales in the region of 36 million euros after they sold its billboard branch to Gpack earlier this year. Rotolito belongs to the Bandecchi Family and in 2018 it acquired Veneta Roto, while in May 2019 it both a stake of Artigrafiche&Diaries Italia. The company has sales of 180 million with an ebitda in the region of 15 million.
Gruppo Buffetti acquired the whole Cartiere Paolo Pigna (see here a previous post by BeBeez). IDeA Corporate Credit Recovery (ICCR) and Gruppo Jannone sold their stakes. Buffetti had acquired 40% of Pigna in May 2018, while ICCR had 31% (from 51%) and Giorgio Jannone 29% (49%). CCR I acquired a controlling stake of Pigna in April 2017 after having acquired 10 million euros credits from Bpm, Bnl, Mps, and Unicredit, the company’s main lenders. Massimo Fagioli is the ceo of Pigna since 2015. The company has sales of 29.4 million, an ebitda of 0.504 million, net cash of 7.6 million. The company ended its receivership two years in advance.
Burgo, an Italian paper producer, could attract the interest of special situations investor QuattroR (see here a previous post by BeBeez). The fund may invest in a capital increase that Burgo could launch in the next coming months. Holding Gruppo Marchi owns above 50% of Burgo. Further shareholders of the company are Mediobanca (22.12%), Unicredit (3.83%), Generali Financial H. (11.68%), and Italmobiliare (11.68%). At the end of 2015 Pillarstone Italy acquired from Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo the participatory instruments they held in Burgo and the  company’s receivebles from Orsero, Cuki, Lediberg, Manucor, and Alfa Park that amount to one billion euros. In 2017 Burgo sold Burgo Energia. The company has sales of 1.883 billion (2 billion yoy), an ebitda of 137 million (132 million) and a net debt of 487 million (535 million). In March 2019, Burgo extended to March 2022 the maturity of 200 million credit lines.
The founders of Svas Biosana and of its subsidiary Industria Farmaceutica Galenica Senese acquired back the 29.62% stake that Atlante Private Equity, a fund that Neuberger Berman is managing since May 2018, owned in the firms (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Green Arrow Capital supported the managers with a direct lending subscribed by its private debt fund. Before this transactions, Svas belonged to Umberto Perillo (30.01%), Danila Antonia Perillo (22.59%), and Claudia Scala (17.78% ). Atlante invested in a 6 million euros capital increase that Svas Biosana launched in April 2012. The company generates abroad 35% of its 93 million turnover with an ebitda of 12.81 million. Svas Biosana joined the Elite Basket Bond of December 2017 with a 10 million minibond and the Export Basket Bond of April 2019 with a 5 million minibond. The features of these liabilities are available on BeBeez Private Data (find out how to subscribe for only 110 euros a month)
Boutique Italia, an investment holding with a focus on Italian SMEs that want to list on Milan Aim, and Alkemia (fka Nem) acquired 25.8% of Retex,  a provider of technology and services for supermarket and restaurant chains and fashion & luxury firms (See here a previous post by BeBeez). The investors poured 4 million euros in the target’s capital increase. The funds will own the company together with Fausto Caprini (ceo) and Andrea Negrin (coo). Retex has sales of 50 million (21.7 million yoy) and carried on several acquisitions. The company aims to keep growing through M&A. Boutique Italia is raising equity and debt resources amounting to 40 million
Friulia, the financial investment holding of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, invested 25 million euros in 13 local SMEs and will invest a further 23 million in the next months  (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Friulia will invest in growth support facilities, project financing, replacement, minibonds, liquidity facilities, tranched covers the guarantee funds for startups. Friulia appointed for its auditing board Joram Bassan (chairman) , Claudio Sambri, Raffaella Leone, Barbara Duca Zilli, and Vittorio Pella. In 1H19, Friulia invested 162 million euros (+3.9% than 2018) in 94 companies, of which 80% are SMEs.
Eurovita Holding, the Italian insurer that Cinven created in 2016 through the acquisition of Ergo Previdenza, Old Mutual Wealth Italy, and Eurovita Assicurazioni, closed the buy of Italy’s Pramerica Life from US Prudential Financial (see here a previous post by BeBeez). IVASS, the Italian Insurance regulator, authorised the transaction on 10 December. After this buy Eurovita, will have gross written premiums (GWP)  for 2 billion euros and 17.5 billion of reserves.
PPP Italia sold to Sonnedix, a global producer of solar energy to JP Morgan Asset Management, 6 photovoltaic plants based in the Southern Italian region of Puglia (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Sonnedix assets in Italy have a power of 194 MW. The European Investment Bank, Cdp, KFW, and few banking foundations invested in PPP Italia, which has resources of 120 million euros.
Intesa Sanpaolo will launch Eurizon Capital Real Asset (ECRA) in early 2020 (see here a previous post by BeBeez). ECRA will operate in the alternative asset segment for insurance companies, pension funds, professional investors, and private clients and will take the form of a partnership of Eurizon Capital (51%) and Intesa Sanpaolo Vita (ISP Vita – 49%).
Bip, a consultancy firm that belongs to Apax Partners, aims to carry on foreign acquisitions (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In 2020, the company aims to buy a French or a British competitor, while in 2022 it will target the Usa market. BIP aims to grow its foreign activities by 40% in the next three years. Apax Partners acquired the majority of the firm in 2018 for 200 million euros on the ground of the commitment of the fund to support Bip’s organic and M&A growth with 100 million. Tikehau Capital subscribed a senior bond senior of 65 million that financed Apax acquisition. Bip has sales of 205 million.
Clessidra appointed Andrea Ottaviano as the new head of its private equity activities (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Ottaviano, 51 years old, is a Bocconi University alumnus and has previously been a managing partner of L Catterton Europe, ceo and managing partner of Sofipa Private Equity, vice president of Merrill Lynch and corporate finance director for Mediobanca.
RCF Group, an Italian producer of audiovisual items of which Palladio Holding and Amundi Private Equity have 30% since 2017, acquired Italian brand Montarbo  (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Montarbo has sales of 31 million euros with an ebitda of 1.47. RCF Group has sales of 183 million, an adjusted ebitda of 39.9 million, and a net financial debt of 161.3 million. In 2019, RCF withdrew from the announced launch of an IPO in light of market volatility.
Fondo Agroalimentare Italiano (FAI) closed its 55 million euros fundraising, in line with the 50 -70 million target (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Unigrains, a French investment holding, launched FAI 2018. FAI targets food companies with revenues of 10 – 150 million and already invested more than 33 million Trasporti Romagna, Sfoglia Torino, Agrimola, Sinfo One, Bassini 1963 – Glaxi Pane, and Industrial Pack. The fund is already studying 3 -4 dossiers.
NB Aurora, a Milan-listed investment subsidiary of Neuberger Berman, acquired the majority of PHSE together with Eddy De Vita (See here a previous post by BeBeez). PHSE founders Andrea and Carlo Cerchia, and Gianluca Meneguzzi sold a 70% stake in the company to a vehicle of which NB Aurora owns 30.8%. NB Aurora invested 16 million euros.
Bain Capital is close to buy Italian IT group Engineering from Apax and NB Renaissance, who delisted the asset from Milan market in 2016 (see here a previous post by BeBeez).  NB Renaissance Partners and Michele Cinaglia (12% owner) should keep their stake in Engineering. The company currently belongs to NB Renaissance and Apax (44% each). The vendors aim to fetch 846.5 million euros for the asset (533.85 million in equity) on the ground of an enterprise value of 1.5 billion or 9 X ebitda.
IDeA Agro, an investor in the agrifood sector, acquired 45% of Tarulli, a producer of bio- grape  (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Iccrea BancaImpresa financed the transaction. Tarulli has sales of 19 million euros with an ebitda of about 0.23 million. Idea Agro announced the first fundraising closing in July 2018 for 80 millioni ahead of a target of 100-110 millioni. The fund previously signed a preliminary agreement for the acquisition of 200-250 hectars in the Piedmont region for growing nuts.
L-Gam acquired 85% of Centro Medico Sant’Agostino (CMS) from Società e Salute (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Oltre Venture, an investment holding that Luciano Balbo founded together with Lorenzo Allevi, founded in 2009 Società e Salute and invested 2.5 million euros. Oltre Venture will keep a 15% of CMS, who recently hired Andrea Porcu as coo. CMS has sales of 39.6 million (+29% yoy). Ferdinando Grimaldi, Yves Alexandre, and Felipe Merry del Val founded L-GAM in 2013.
Trime, a Wise Equity portfolio company, acquired DOA (see here a previous post by BeBeez). DOA is an Italian manufacturer of hydraulic tools with sales of 3 million euros and an ebitda of 0.386 million. Trime is a producer of light towers for the engineering sector whose ceo is Paolo Tacconi. The company has sales of 50 million (32.33 million yoy), an ebitda of 2.52 million, and a net debt of 0.531 million.
Federico Lovadina is the new chairman of Sia, the Italian IT company for financial service of which Cdp Equity has 83.09% since November 2019 (See here a previous post by BeBeez). Lovadina, a tax lawyer, previously workd as ceo of Ataf, board member of Ferrovie dello Stato and of Prelios, and chairman of Toscana Energia. CDP appointed  Andrea Cardamone, Fabio Massoli, Andrea Pellegrini, and Carmine Viola as board members of Sia. Sia has sales of 614.8 million euros and is a company monitored by BeBeez Private Data (find out how to subscribe for only 110 euros a month)
Premio Claudio Dematté Private Equity of the Year, an award that AIFI, Intesa Sanpaolo, EY, Corriere della Sera, Gruppo 24 Ore, SDA Bocconi, and Borsa Italiana promoted, announced the following winners for the 16th edition:
- Early Stage: P101 for the Viralize deal;
- Expansion: Mandarin Advisory for the Marval deal;
- Buy-Out: Ambienta for the Lakesight Technologies/Tattile;
- Big Buy-Out and Ipo: Advent International, Bain Capital Private Equity (Europe), and Clessidra for the listing of Nexi;
- Special mention for Charme Capital Partners and the Igenomix transaction
