Ardian-backed Jakala acquires marketing specialist Volponi

Alessia Argentieri
07 June 2019

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Jakala, an Italian outsourced marketing provider backed by Ardian, has bought marketing specialist Volponi.

Following Volponi's acquisition, Jakala expects to reach revenues of €250m in 2019.

Ardian invested in Jakala, at the time called Seri Jakala, in June 2018. The investment was made by Ardian Growth through a club deal alongside Mediobanca's Equity Partners Investment Club and several Italian entrepreneurs' family holdings.

The GP deployed capital from its Ardian Growth Fund II, which held a final close on €230m in April, surpassing its €200m target. The fund provides equity tickets in the €5-25m range to digital businesses with a turnover of €5-100m.

Jakala is controlled by Matteo de Brabant's Jakala Group, which owns a 44% stake, Mediobanca's The Equity Club, with a 28% stake and Ardian, which holds a 7% stake. The remainder is owned by Paolo Marzotto holding PFC (11%), Luigi Berlusconi's holding H14 (3%) and several other minority shareholders, including the Mussetto family and entrepreneurs Marco Santambrogio and Marco Di Dio Roccazzella.

Company
Established in 1984 and headquartered in Montecassiano, Volponi specialises in marketing and customer engagement for companies operating in the food retail industry. The business generated revenues of €30m in 2018.

People
Volponi - Lucio Volponi (founder, chair); Vanni Volponi (CEO).
Jakala - Matteo de Brabant (founder, chair); Stefano Pedron (CEO).