Itago's NEIP III sells ABL to trade

Unquote understands that the deal values ABL at between €33-40m, which equates to around 10-12x its 2018 EBITDA of €3.3m.

Gulftech, which controls a group of companies specialising in industrial machinery, also acquired the majority stake in ABL held by the founding Ascari family, who reinvested in the business and retained a minority holding of around 2%.

NEIP III bought a 44.25% share in ABL in 2015. The vehicle, at the time controlled by Finint & Partners, held a final close on €75m in December 2011 and is now 90% deployed. 

NEIP III is currently managed by a team composed of Domenico Tonussi, Nicola Bordignon, Piergiorgio Fantin and Daniele Mondi, who have recently spun off from Banca Finint and established a new firm named Itago.

In addition to NEIP III, Itago intends to launch a new fund with a €100m target at the beginning of 2020 to invest in Italian SMEs generating revenues between €10-50m and operating primarily in the manufacturing and food sectors, Unquote understands.

The firm will mainly target majority stakes and will apply moderate leverage of up to 2x EBITDA. It expects to raise two thirds of its capital from institutional investors and one third from Italian family offices.

Company
Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Cavezzo, near Modena, ABL specialises in the design, manufacture and servicing of fruit processing machinery and equipment. The company generated EBITDA of €3.3m and net profit of around €1m from revenues of €15m in 2018, Unquote understands. It exports more than 90% of its products outside Italy.

People
ABL – Carlo Ascari (founder).
NEIP III (Itago) – Domenico Tonussi, Nicola Bordignon (co-CEOs).
Gulftech – Steven Ferrell (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Corus Corporate Finance (corporate finance); Pavia & Ansaldo (legal).
Acquirer – Deloitte (financial due diligence); Jones Day (legal).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Exits
• Southern Europe
• Industrials
• Italy
• Deloitte
• Trade sale