Investindustrial acquires B&B Italia

The GP drew capital from Investindustrial V, a €1.25bn fund raised in 2011. Of the total amount committed to the vehicle, Investindustrial has allocated around €1bn to investments in the Italian design sector, unquote” understands.

Following completion of the deal, B&B will seek to undertake an international expansion strategy.

The company’s founder and CEO Giorgio Busnelli will retain a minority stake of approximately 20% as part of the transaction, a source close to the situation told unquote”.

The B&B Italia deal comes less than a year after Investindustrial acquired a majority stake in Italian lighting designer Flos, which recently bolted on outdoor lighting specialist Ares. A source told the Financial Times the combined equity value of the Flos and B&B Italia investments amounts to around €500m, meaning the GP is to continue making substantial additional investments in the sector.

Investindustrial will likely face serious competition for assets in the segment, with Private Equity Partners, Permira's Paolo Colonna and a group of private investors recently establishing Italian Design Brands (IDB). IDB also intends to consolidate the Italian design market and increase the global presence of its businesses. The holding company recently acquired Gervasoni, a furniture designer and manufacturer, from its family owners.

Debt
Natixis, Banca IMI and UniCredit acted as lead arrangers in providing a debt package to support the transaction.

Company
Founded in 1966 as Cassina and Busnelli and headquartered in Novedrate, near Como, B&B is a furniture designer focusing on the residential, retail and corporate markets. The business employs 480 people and has a distribution network across 80 countries. It generated revenues of €140m in 2014, of which 80% were accounted for by exports.

People
Andrea Bonomi is a senior partner at Investindustrial. Giorgio Busnelli is CEO of B&B Italia.

Advisers
Equity – Chiomenti (Legal, Tax); Bain & Co (Operational due diligence, Commercial due diligence); PwC (Financial due diligence); Kirkland & Ellis (Legal).
Company – Chiomenti (Legal); Bank of America Merrill Lynch (Corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Southern Europe
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• Italy
• Investindustrial