Céréa Partenaire buys Monviso from PM&Partners

Monviso is Céréa's first investment in Italy. The GP used Cerea Capital II for the transaction; the fund closed on €225m in January 2017 and invests in companies with a turnover in the €20-250m range. 

Funds managed by Céréa and Capzanine partially financed the transaction through mezzanine debt, while Crédit Agricole Cariparma and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNP Paribas) provided senior debt.

PM&Partners, which used to own 96% of the business, fully exited the investment.

Céréa's backing will help Monviso with the development of new products, technologies and distribution channels. The business will invest in the improvement of industrial processes to enhance quality and productivity. It plans to expand both in Italy and in Europe.

Previous funding
In 2012, PM&Partners acquired 96% of Monviso for an undisclosed sum, while the remainder was split between CEO Alessandro Manfredi Cusmano and investor Franco Gribaldi.

The GP used its PM&Partners II fund. The vehicle, closed on €340m in 2009, invests €20-50m equity tickets in Italian companies with a turnover of €50-200m. 

In 2015, under PM&Partners' management, Monviso bolted on  Italian biscuit producer Biscotteria Tonon. Founded in 1928, the family business generated a turnover of €9m and had an EBITDA of €1.4m in 2014.  

Prior to PM&Partners' tenur, Alto acquired an 89% stake in Monviso from private equity fund 3i in 2008. The deal was supported by a senior finance package provided by Interbanca and a mezzanine tranche provided by AF Mezzanine.

Company
Founded 1936 and headquartered in Turin, the company manages the Monviso branch – producing bread substitutes, crackers and cookies – as well as Tonon, which manufactures sweet and savoury biscuits. The company offers a range of products, which are free from gluten, palm oil and lactose. Monviso had sales of approximately €36m in 2017, a third of which were from exports. The company employs 130 staff and has four facilities in northern Italy.

People
Monviso – Manfredi Cusmano (CEO); Marco Visentin (CFO).
Céréa Capital – Gilles Sicard (executive managing director); Xavier Renault (investment director). 
Capzanine – Maxence Radix (managing director); Thomas Lafougère (associate).
Céréa Mezzanine – Hubert Lange (managing director); Cécile Jouannic (investment director).
Crédit Agricole Cariparma – Gianluca Pagano (head of structured finance); Umberto Parolini (associate).
Banca Nazionale del Lavoro – Luca Giordano (head private equity).
PM&Partners – Massimo Grasselli (managing partner); Andrea Maralla (partner).

Advsiers
Equity – Brera Financial Advisory, Andrea Pagliara, Adriano Adriani, Paolo Bagnasco (M&A); Dentons, Alessandro Dubini, Filippo Frabasile (legal); Gitti and Partners, Vincenzo Giannantonio, Cristina Cavedon, Giacomo Pansolli, Francesco Mirizzi (legal); Grant Thornton, Stefano Marchetti, Daniele Ottobrino, (commercial due diligence); Long Term Partners, Alberto Regazzo, Chris Christodulopulos (commercial due diligence); ERM Julien Famy (ESG due diligence); Verspieren, Federico Tiribocchi (insurance due diligence).
Vendor – Vitale & Co, Valentina Salari, Raffaele Ciccarelli (M&A); Gattai Minoli Agostinelli Partners (legal); PwC (financial due diligence).

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