Bravo, Ersel buy Arbo from Ersel Investment Club

Unquote understands that the acquisition was conducted via a newco named Bora Partecipazioni, which wholly acquired the company and is 40% owned by Bravo and 53% by Ersel, while the remaining 7% is controlled by Arbo CEO Daniele Franco.

According to a statement, Franco will stay on with the business as CEO, while Bravo and Ersel will appoint new members of the board to support the company's management in the upcoming phase of expansion.

The deal was partly financed by a debt package provided by a pool of banks composed of Bper Banca, MPS Capital Services and Crédit Agricole Cariparma.

Under Ersel Investment Club's ownership, the company grew internationally by extending its presence in Spain and the UK, opening 17 new stores and increasing its annual turnover from €32m to €60m. This is the fourth divestment made by the fund in the last year, following its exits from Sicme Motori, Millbo and Electro Power System.

With the fresh capital, the company plans to consolidate its market position in Italy, by opening new stores across the country, and expand further internationally, primarily in Spain, where it already has a presence. In addition to this, Arbo intends to bolster its growth within the UK market, following the recent acquisition of UK-based Boiler Spare Parts.

Bravo Invest deployed capital from its Bravo Capital Partners vehicle, a Luxembourg-based fund that closed in August 2017 on €100m and has so far invested more than 50% of its capital, Unquote understands.

Prior to this last acquisition, the vehicle bought an 85% stake in cooling and heating systems specialist Eurociller; a 60% holding in Metalworks, which produces metal accessories for the fashion industry; and a minority stake in Milan-listed Union Best, which will be delisted from the Italian stock exchange in the coming weeks, according to the firm.

Previous funding
Ersel Investment Club bought an 80% stake in Arbo in 2011 from Quadrivio, while the company's management team retained the remaining 20% holding, in a deal valued at €28.2m. Italian banks Centrobanca and Meliorbanca each provided €6m in loans to support the transaction.

In March 2007, Quadrivio bought a 70% stake in Arbo for an undisclosed amount.

Company
Founded in 1968 and based in Fano, near Pesaro, Arbo specialises in manufacturing components and spare parts for boilers and air conditioning systems. In 2017, the company generated EBITDA of €7.5m from revenues of €60m.

People
Arbo – Daniele Franco (CEO).

Advisers
Vendors – Alantra (corporate finance); Pedersoli Studio Legale (legal).
Acquirers – R&P Legal (legal); Gattai Minoli Agostinelli & Partners (legal); Lincoln International (corporate finance); Deloitte (corporate finance); Essentia (corporate finance); Russo De Rosa Associati (tax).

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