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Ambienta, L Catterton buy Pibiplast

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Ambienta and L Catterton have acquired a majority stake in Italian packaging specialist Pibiplast from the company's founders, the Bosi family, which have retained a minority holding in the business.

Unquote understands that the acquisition was made via a newco, of which 85% was acquired by L Catterton and Ambienta, while the remaining 15% was retained by the Bosi family.

The company's CEO Giorgio Bosi will stay on with the business and will be joined by some new managers to strengthen the management team. The backers are looking to maintain the company's growth rate and support its M&A strategy with new acquisitions in Italy and abroad.

Ambienta told Unquote that it is already considering a list of possible target companies to strengthen Pibiplast's market position in Italy and expand its presence in France and the US. In addition to this, Ambienta plans to support Pibiplast's sustainability roadmap through the development and promotion of packaging solutions based on eco-friendly materials.

Equita provided debt for the transaction by fully subscribing a subordinated bond of €10m via its Equita Private Debt Fund. The vehicle, led by fund manager Paolo Pendenza,  provides senior and junior debt and unitranche facilities to Italian SMEs.

Unquote understands that a debt package was also provided by Banco BPM to support the transaction. According to Ambienta, the firms decided to use moderate leverage equating to around a third of the total value of the deal.

Ambienta deployed capital from its Ambienta II fund, which held a final close on €323.5m in November 2014, surpassing its €300m target, and is now more than 70% deployed. The GP recently launched a third fund that held a first and final close in May, hitting its €635m hard-cap. Ambienta plans to close two more deals before the summer, using the remaining dry powder of Ambienta II, and will start to invest via Ambienta III at the beginning of the autumn.

L Catterton is currently investing via L Catterton Europe IV, a €500m vehicle launched in February 2017, which specialises in buyouts with a focus towards European companies operating across the consumer and retail sectors. It is the firm's first Europe-focused fund raised since the merger in January 2016 between US buyout house Catterton and L Capital, the private equity arm of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH.

Company
Founded in 1954 as a manufacturer of plastic packaging for the pharmaceutical industry, Pibiplast became a specialist in the design and manufacturing of beauty and personal care plastic packaging for the cosmetics sector. The company is headquartered in Correggio, near Reggio Emilia, and operates four plants based in northern Italy. It serves 500 customers in 35 countries, and generated an EBITDA margin of 20% from revenues of around €60m in 2017.

People
Ambienta – Nino Tronchetti Provera (managing partner); Mauro Roversi (chief investment officer).
L Catterton Europe – Andrea Ottaviano (managing partner).
Pibiplast – Giorgio Bosi (CEO).

Advisers
Ambienta – Equita SIM (M&A); Long Term Partners (business due diligence); Lombardi Segni e Associati (legal); KPMG (financial due diligence); Studio Tributario Associato Facchini Rossi & Soci (tax); EY (ESG due diligence).
L Catterton – Pirola Corporate Finance (M&A); Goetzpartners (business due diligence); LMS Studio Legale (legal); KPMG (financial due diligence); Studio De Rosa (tax).
Company – Banca Akros (M&A); Studio Morandi (tax); Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners (legal); PwC (financial due diligence).

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