Carlyle buys Forgital in €1bn deal

The deal values the company at around €1bn, which equates to 12x its 2017 EBITDA of €82.7m.

Forgital's founding Spezzapria family has an option to reinvest in the company at closing, which is expected in the second half of 2019.

Carlyle deployed capital from Carlyle Europe Partners V – a Europe-dedicated upper-mid-market buyout fund that held a first close in May 2018 on €3.3bn – and from Carlyle Partners VII – a US-focused buyout fund that closed on its $18.5bn hard-cap in July 2018.

The GP plans to further boost Forgital's expansion through the creation of a global growth platform, primarily in the aerospace sector.

Previous funding
FII acquired a 17% stake in Forgital in December 2013 by investing €30m in the company.

The entire FII portfolio was bought by Neuberger Berman in December 2017. Subsequently, NB Aurora acquired 44.55% of the FII portfolio owned by the investment firm's parent company, Neuberger Berman, for €75.4m in May 2018. The stake acquired by NB Aurora was made up of minority holdings in 17 Italian SMEs, including Forgital.

Company
Established in 1873 and based in Velo d'Astico, near Vicenza, Forgital manufactures stainless steel, aluminium, nickel, copper and titanium forged, laminated and rolled rings used in the aerospace, oil & gas and engineering industries.

The company generated EBITDA of €82.7m from revenues of €419.4m and reported net debt of approximately €110m in 2017. Forgital employs 1,100 people across nine facilities located in Italy, France and the US, and through its global sales force.

People
The Carlyle Group – Filippo Penatti (managing director of Carlyle Europe Buyout team).
Forgital – Nadir Spezzapria (president).

Advisers
Equity – Latham & Watkins (legal).

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