GP Profile: Clessidra

Clessidra has recently launched its fourth buyout fund, Clessidra Capital Partners IV, with a target of €500m and a €600m hard-cap. The vehicle expects to hold a first close by April 2021.

"Despite the coronavirus emergency, our project is well perceived and has already attracted the interest of a wide base of investors," says Clessidra CEO Andrea Ottaviano. "This has been encouraged by the excellent results of our third fund and our expertise in finding great assets able to outperform despite a complicated and challenging environment."

At the time of the launch, Ottaviano told Unquote that the GP would initially turn to its existing, primarily Italian, LP base to reach first close. It will then focus on international investors once the pandemic is more under control and travelling has progressively normalised.

The vehicle will deploy equity tickets in the €40-100m range, acquiring majority stakes in profitable companies with high-growth potential, international expansion ambitions, and the potential to become consolidation platforms.

Geographically, the fund is dedicated to Italian investments, but has the flexibility to deploy up to 20% of its capital in the rest of Europe. "We intend to invest abroad only when we can find a great asset with the distinctive potential of becoming a market leader or developing an effective consolidation strategy," says Ottaviano.

The GP is still investing its third fund, Clessidra Capital Partners III, which held a final close on €607.3m in December 2016. The vehicle has four companies in its portfolio, with €100m to invest in future deals. It acquired door designer and manufacturer Scrigno in a €100m deal inked in May 2018; bought interior lighting specialist L&S in June 2019; and acquired digital payment specialist Nexi, which floated on the Italian stock exchange in a €2.3bn IPO in April 2019.

More recently, the fund finalised the acquisition of a majority stake in wine producer Casa Vinicola Botter from DeA Capital Alternative Funds and the founding Botter family. Clessidra bought a stake of around 70%, while the founding family reinvested and retained the remaining minority. The deal is understood to give the company an enterprise value of around €300m, which would equate to approximately 10x its EBITDA.

"We plan to build a platform in the Italian premium wine production sector, able to grow via strategic acquisitions and reach a turnover of around €500m," Ottaviano says.

Looking up
Ottaviano says the firm has a rich pipeline and expects to close some interesting deals in the coming months despite the pandemic.

"Following the outbreak, local healthy companies have become more willing to look for the support of a private equity player able to help them face this challenging time, not only with a defensive strategy, but also with a proactive and dynamic approach," says Ottaviano. "In addition, businesses with special credit needs can also benefit from the partnership of a fund that can bring capital and provide managerial expertise for growth and expansion."

He adds: "Furthermore, the coronavirus emergency has accelerated a structural process that started a few years ago across the Italian economy and is still ongoing. This process implies a change in business models that requires company owners and entrepreneurs to develop a wide set of managerial skills, technical expertise, and an export-orientated mindset. In the coming months and years, this will be essential to take an Italian company to the next level of its development, boost its expansion and create market leaders able to compete in the international markets."

In addition to its private equity focus, in September 2019 Clessidra expanded its scope with the launch of Clessidra Restructuring Fund (CRF), a vehicle dedicated to unlikely-to-pay (UTP) exposures. With this new fund, the GP intends to diversify its investment strategy and further expand its business range by entering the bank credit segment.

Founded in 2003, Clessidra is part of Italmobiliare, the Italian investment holding company of the Pesenti family. It is dedicated to investments across the Italian mid-market, targeting companies with high-growth potential and ambitious expansion plans, with the aim of supporting their growth and fuelling their international expansion. The firm focuses on five macro sectors: healthcare, financial services, consumer retail, industrial goods and business services.

Since inception, Clessidra has completed 23 platform investments for an aggregate EV of more than €18bn, as well as 17 add-ons.

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