UK-based Mayfair Equity Partners, specialized in the TMT and consumer sectors, purchased the majority of atHome, a company active in the online advertising and mortgage brokerage sector in Luxembourg. The sellers are Casa.it and Oakley Fund III, managed by Oakley Capital which will maintain a minority stake in atHome and its original control stake in the Italian platform Casa.it. In the coming weeks, the latter will manage the transition of shared activities, providing the necessary support to atHome, which was assisted in the operation by the financial advisor Macquarie Capital (see the Casa.it press release and here Oakley press release).
Casa.it, the leading portal in the real estate sector in Italy, and its analogues in France, Germany and Luxembourg, with the atHome brand, had passed under the control of Oakley Capital in December 2016 (see here a previous article by BeBeez). Oakley had supported the management, which had invested less than 20%, in a management buyout transaction worth 132.6 million euros in enterprise value. The Australian group listed on the Sidney Rea Group sold at the time.
Luca Rossetto, ceo and general manager of Casa.it, explained: “We believe this is a great opportunity for atHome, to further accelerate growth and write a new chapter in its history. Although it is a separation, as always happens in life and in work, what matters is the quality of the projects we have carried out together in this period, the results achieved and the shared values ​​”.
Under the ownership of Oakley, atHome has successfully consolidated its position as market leader in its main residential property market, while expanding in mortgage brokerage through strategic acquisitions. In Oakley’s three years of investment, atHome has increased its ebitda by more than 80% and its sites are among the most visited in Luxembourg.
