Gradiente sells Lanificio dell'Olivo to Ethica Global

The company was valued at around 7x its 2019 EBITDA.

In addition to the 80% stake owned by Gradiente, Ethica also acquired the remainder from the Taddeucci Sassolini family.

Ethica intends to boost Lanificio dell'Olivo's organic growth and pursue a buy-and-build strategy across the Italian textiles sector.

Gradiente bought an 80% stake in Lanificio dell'Olivo in June 2015 via its €76m first fund, in a deal valued at around €30m.

Company
Established in 1947 and based in Campi Bisenzio, near Florence, Lanificio dell'Olivo is a manufacturer of wool, viscose, silk, cotton and linen yarns as well as nylon and polyester metallic yarns, for the knitting and textile industries.

The company generated EBITDA of around €3m from revenues of €20m in 2019, of which 70% came from outside of Italy.

People
Gradiente – Pietro Busnardo (managing partner).
Ethica Global Investments – Ruggero Jenna (CEO).

Advisers
Acquirer – Gattai Minoli Agostinelli (legal); EY (financial due diligence); Long Term Partners (corporate finance).
Vendor – K Finance (corporate finance); PwC (financial due diligence).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Southern Europe
• Consumer
• Italy
• EY (Ernst & Young)
• PwC