Clessidra launches fourth buyout fund

The vehicle expects to hold a first close by the end of Q1 2021.

"Despite the coronavirus emergency, our project is well perceived  and has already attracted the interest of our current investors," Clessidra CEO Andrea Ottaviano told Unquote. "This has been encouraged by the excellent results of our third fund and our expertise in finding great assets able to outperform despite a complicated and challenging environment."

The fund will follow the same strategy as its predecessor, Clessidra Capital Partners III, which held a final close on €607.3m in December 2016. The fund has currently only three companies in its portfolio and €100m to invest in future deals. It acquired door designer and manufacturer Scrigno in a €100m deal inked in May 2018; bought interior lighting specialist L&S in June 2019; and acquired digital payment specialist Nexi, which floated on the Italian stock exchange in a €2.3bn IPO in April 2019.

In addition, the fund is finalising the acquisition of a majority stake in wine producer Casa Vinicola Botter from DeA Capital Alternative Funds and the founding Botter family. Clessidra is buying 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.

"We plan to build a platform in the Italian premium wine production sector, able to grow via strategic acquisitions and reach a turnover of around €500m," Ottaviano told Unquote.

Investors
Clessidra Capital Partners IV intends to build an LP base composed of Italian pension funds, international funds-of-funds, institutions and private investors, and expects a high re-up rate among its previous LPs.

"We plan to structure our fundraising in two main phases: initially we will raise capital from our most loyal investors, primarily Italian LPs that backed our previous funds," said Ottaviano. "This will allow us to reach a first close and start our deployment period. Subsequently, we intend to focus on international investors, building a wide and diversified base of LPs. This second phase will probably start in the spring, when we expect the pandemic is more under control and travelling has progressively normalised."

Investments
The fund will deploy equity tickets in the €40-100m range, acquiring majority stakes in profitable companies with high-growth potential, international expansion ambitions and the potential to become consolidation and acquisitive platforms.

Geographically, the fund is dedicated to Italian investments, but has the flexibility to deploy up to 20% in the rest of Europe.

"Our fund is dedicated to the Italian market, which is rich in interesting and promising businesses across various sectors," said Ottaviano. "At the same time, our vehicle has the flexibility to deploy a minority of its capital in attractive opportunities outside of Italy. We intend to invest abroad only when we can find a great asset with the distinctive potential of becoming a market leader or developing an effective consolidation strategy."

People
Clessidra – Andrea Ottaviano (CEO).

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• Topics
• Funds
• Buyout
• Southern Europe
• Clessidra Capital Partners
• Italy
• coronavirus