Armonia-backed Biodue buys Farcoderma

Biodue already owned a 43% stake in Farmoderma.

Company CEO Francesco Palladini and shareholder Roberto Nisica will reinvest in Farcoderma and retain a minority stake. Palladini will remain as CEO and will be joined by Biodue CEO Vanni Benedetti, who will become president of Farcoderma.

Following the deal, the combined group will employ a staff of 200 people and generate annual revenues of around €60m.

Armonia acquired a stake in Biodue in August 2019, in a deal that gave the company an enterprise value of around €64m, equal to 8x its 2019 EBITDA. The company was listed on the Italian stock exchange at the time.

The acquisition was made via a newco named Aurora Dodici, owned by Armonia and the Rovati family's holding company, Fidim. Subsequently, they launched a public offering on the remaining shares of Biodue and delisted the company in December 2019.

The GP deployed capital from its Armonia Italy Fund, which was originally launched with a €700m target – subsequently reduced to €250m – and held a final close on €280m in July 2018. The vehicle invests equity tickets of €25-75m in Italian SMEs operating in the food, luxury, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle and services sectors.

Biodue sells its products to Italian and international pharmaceutical companies, marketing them under its own brands: Pharcos, Selerbe and Biofta. The company generated EBITDA of €8m from revenues of €44m in 2019.

Company
Established in 2006 and based in Torre Pallavicina, near Bergamo, Farcoderma is a producer of food supplements and cosmetics for face, body and hair as well as medical devices and containers, including bottles, plastic tubes, stick packs and syringes for the pharma and cosmetics industries. The company generates revenues of around €15m.

People
Armonia – Alessandro Grimaldi (CEO).
Biodue - Vanni Benedetti (CEO).
Farcoderma - Francesco Palladini (CEO).

Advisers
Acquirer - UHY Bompani (financial due diligence); Gitti & Partners (legal); Gatti Pavesi Bianchi (legal).
Vendor - Studio Legale Conti Damini Codeluppi (legal); Studio Associato Parolari (tax).

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