Clessidra to buy wine producer Botter

Alessia Argentieri
12 August 2020

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Italian private equity firm Clessidra is acquiring a majority stake in wine producer Casa Vinicola Botter from Dea Capital Alternative Funds and the founding Botter family.

A regulatory filing with the German competition authority has confirmed the rumors that have been circulating across the market in the last few months.

Clessidra will buy a stake of around 70%, while the founding family will reinvest and retain the remaining minority. The deal is understood to give the company an enterprise value of around €300m, which would equate to approximately 10x its EBITDA.

Clessidra has been in negotiations with DeA Capital and the Botter family for the acquisition of the company since February 2020, but the coronavirus outbreak delayed the sale process. The firm has also negotiated a financing deal with a pool of banks and debt funds comprising Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, UBI Banca, Banco BPM and Muzinich, according to press reports.

Clessidra has previously invested in the food sector, with the acquisition of vinegar producer Acetum – sold to listed corporate Associated British Foods in 2017 – and the purchase of an 80% stake in confectionery company Balconi.

The firm is preparing the launch of its fourth buyout fund, which will have a target of around €600m. The vehicle will invest in Italian companies across the mid- and upper-mid-market, with EVs in the €150m-1bn bracket, operating in a wide range of sectors. It will be managed by a team led by Andrea Ottaviano, who joined Clessidra from L Catterton Europe in 2019 and was appointed as head of private equity.

The deal will see the exit of DeA Capital, which acquired a 22.5% stake in Botter via Idea Taste of Italy I in January 2018. The GP has recently launched Taste of Italy 2, a buyout fund with a €250m target and €300m hard-cap dedicated to the agri-food sector.

Company
Casa Vinicola Botter was founded in 1928 by Carlo Botter in Fossalta di Piave, near Venice.

The company specialises in the production of a wide variety of wines, including red, white, organic and sparkling wines, and produces 86 million bottles per year.

Botter generated EBITDA of around €30m from revenues of €215m in 2019, of which 97% came from abroad.

People
Taste of Italy – Pierluca Antolini (managing director).
Casa Vinicola Botter – Annalisa Botter, Alessandro Botter, Luca Botter (managers).