Ergon buys baked goods specialist Dolciaria Acquaviva

CEO Pierluigi Acquaviva and managers Giuseppe and Marco Acquaviva will continue to lead the company and reinvested alongside the GP, retaining a minority stake.

The GP deployed capital from its Ergon Capital Partners IV Fund, which held a final close in March 2019 on €580m, surpassing its target of €500m. The vehicle deploys equity tickets in the €25-75m range. 

Ergon intends to boost the company's growth both organically and through additional acquisitions in the Italian market, with the aim of building a platform in the baked goods sector.

Acquaviva's management appointed Leonardo-Houlihan Lokey in May 2019 to run the sale process. According to press reports, in addition to Ergon Capital, BC Partners had also showed interest in  acquiring the business.

Company
Founded in 1979 and based in Gricignano di Aversa, near Caserta, Acquaviva Dolciaria produces frozen baked goods, primarily croissants and pastries, for the food industry. The company employs 100 staff, serves around 20,000 clients in the Italian market and sells its products through a network of distributors and eight directly operated commercial platforms. It generated EBITDA of around €15m from revenues of €60m in 2018.

People
Ergon Capital – Emanuele Lembo (managing partner).
Dolciaria Acquaviva – Pierluigi Acquaviva (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Vitale & Co (corporate finance); Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners (legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Southern Europe
• Consumer
• Italy