Charterhouse buys Nuova Castelli

The deal value is understood to stand at more than €300m. The founder, Dante Bigi, has retained a 20% stake in the firm.

The firm has spun out its fish business, which will be held by the newco Airone and fully owned by the Nuova Castelli founder. 

Bigi acquired mozzarella maker Gruppo Alival in December 2013. Plans for Nuova Castelli's strategic growth include the integration of Alival, which reports revenues of around €200m. 

The deal was brokered by CP Advisors New York, acting on behalf of the company. The all-equity deal is reported to have included an agreement from Charterhouse to commit a €100m shareholder loan to finance the construction of new dairy farms and finance bolt-on acquisitions.

Charterhouse entered the Italian market last year, buying pharmaceutical company Doc Generici from three pharma companies. The deal value was reported to stand at around 2.5x turnover, which reached around €132m in 2012.  

Company
Founded in Novara in 1892, Nuova Castelli produces parmesan, grana padano and gorgonzola cheese from five production sites in Italy. Around 90% of the firm's turnover – reported to stand at around €290m – originates in France, the UK, Germany, Scandinavia and Russia. 

The firm retails to clients including Tesco, Asda, Carrefour and Metro. 

Advisers
Equity – PwC, Francesco Giordano (Financial due diligence); Simmons & Simmons, Andrea Accornero, Moira Gamba, Nicolangelo Del Rosario (Legal). 
Company – CP Advisors New York (Corporate finance); Baker & McKenzie, Carlo Gnetti, Paola Colarossi, Chiara Marinozzi (Legal).  

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southern Europe
• Consumer
• Buyouts
• Italy
• Charterhouse Capital Partners