FAI-backed Agrimola bolts on La Nuova Tradizione

Unquote understands that both FAI and Agrimola CEO Luca Sassi reinvested to support this add-on.

With the acquisition of La Nuova, Agrimola expects to strengthen its market position in Italy, increase its revenues and broaden its customer base, while enlarging its offering with the launch of new products. The company will also continue to pursue its consolidation strategy, with the aim of creating an aggregation platform across the Italian natural fruit-based ingredients sector.

FAI acquired a minority stake in Agrimola in September 2018, while CEO Sassi retained the majority holding in the business. A debt package to finance the transaction was provided by Banca Popolare dell'Emilia-Romagna and Mediocredito Italiano.

FAI was launched in 2017 and held a €55m final close in December 2019. It is managed by a team based in Milan and led by director Francesco Orazi. The vehicle acquires minority stakes in Italian SMEs operating in the agri-food sector and generating revenues of €10-150m. The fund inherited two portfolio companies acquired by Unigrains in Italy in 2016 and 2017, Trasporti Romagna and Sfoglia Torino, and has made four investments so far deploying around €33m.

In addition to Agrimola, its portfolio comprises Sinfo One, a software company specialising in business intelligence for the food industry, bought in October 2018; frozen baked goods producers Fratelli Bassini 1963 and Glaxi Pane, acquired in February 2019; and Industrial Pack, a packaging specialist for the food sector, also backed in February 2019.

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Casalfiumanese, near Bologna, Agrimola specialises in producing chestnuts and frozen fruit used in marmalades, desserts, ice-cream and dairy. The company supplies several European supermarket chains and 50 international distributors. It generates revenues of around €40m, 40% of which comes from outside Italy.

Company
Based in Montecchio Maggiore, near Vicenza, La Nuova is a producer of ingredients for ice-cream, pastries and baked goods.

Its main products are powders and pastes for ice-cream (70% of its production) and jams, purees, candied fruits and flavouring for pastries (around 30%).

The company generates revenues in excess of €2.5m.

People
Fondo Agroalimentare Italiano – Francesco Orazi (director).
Agrimola – Luca Sassi (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – RLSG (legal); Grant Thornton (corporate finance); Bernoni Grant Thornton (tax).
Company – 5Fivelex (legal); Linko Farinazzo (corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Southern Europe
• Consumer
• Unigrains
• Italy
• Build-up
• Buy-and-build