NB Renaissance-backed Comelz bolts on Develer

Alessia Argentieri
06 December 2018

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Comelz, a portfolio company of NB Renaissance Partners, has acquired a majority stake in IT specialist Develer from the company's founders, Giovanni Bajo and Simone Zinanni, who will retain the remaining minority stake and stay on with the business.

Following the deal, Comelz expects to reach revenues of €75m in 2018, of which €5m will come from its IT division.

Develer plans to use the fresh capital to boost its growth and expansion, and open a new business unit focused on research and development of new prototypes.

NB Renaissance, the Italian subsidiary of Neuberger Berman, acquired an 80% stake in industrial machinery producer Comelz in September 2017, while the founders, the Zorzolo family, retained the remaining minority holding. Italian lenders UniCredit, Gruppo Banco BPM, Banca Ifis and MPS Capital Services provided a debt facility to support the transaction, thought to be valued in the region of €80m.

Company
Established in 2001 and headquartered in Florence, Develer specialises in developing tailored software and hardware using open-source technology for companies and public organisations. The business provides embedded systems, hardware, firmware, user interfaces and software for industrial, web and cloud applications. It employs a staff of 40 people.

People
NB Renaissance Partners – Marco Cerrina Feroni, Fabio Canè (senior partners); Michele Quaranta (partner).
Comelz – Alex Corsico (CEO).
Develer – Giovanni Bajo e Simone Zinanni (co-founders, co-CEOs).

Advisers
Acquirer – Gatti Pavesi Bianchi (legal); PwC (tax).
Company – KEIS Law Nitti e Associati (legal); KEIS Law Chiostri Conti e Associati (tax).