Wise buys digital printing business Aleph

The company's founders will continue to manage the business following the deal, focusing on expanding the company's product offering and boosting its international expansion.

The deal is the fifth acquisition for the GP's fourth fund, Wisequity IV. The 2015-vintage vehicle held a €215m final close on its hard-cap in March 2016 after six months on the road.

Aleph is the second target company operating in the digital printing segment that Wise has acquired. In 2012, the Milan-based GP purchased Italian enamel and paint producer Kiian, previously held by Sofipa Equity Fund, alongside its peer Alcedo. Following a series of bolt-on acquisitions, the investors created JK Group.

In October 2015, Wise and Alcedo sold their 72% stake in JK Group. According to the vendors, the trade sale valued the business at €346.5m, equivalent to 10.3x its pro-forma EBITDA for 2015.

Company
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Como, Aleph operates in the digital printing industry and provides large-format digital inkjet printers mainly for the textiles sector, as well as drying systems and proprietary software.

According to local press reports, the company posted €9.6m in revenues in 2015, a slight dip on the €11.1m generated the previous year. Furthermore, its EBITDA value was also reported to have dropped from €700,000 in 2014 to a loss of €100,000 in 2015, while its net debt rose from €30,000 to €154,000.

People
Wise – Valentina Franceschini (partner); Gianluca Boni (senior adviser).

Advisers
Equity – Bonelli Erede (legal); Spada Partners (financial due diligence, tax).
Company – Gatti Pavesi Bianchi (legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Industrials
• Southern Europe
• Italy
• Wise SGR