FSI et al. sell Cedacri to Ion for €1.5bn

Alessia Argentieri
08 March 2021

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

FSI has sold its 27.1% stake in Italian banking software group Cedacri to Ion Group, in a deal that gives the company an enterprise value of €1.5bn.

Ion is the parent company of Unquote publisher Acuris.

The EV includes €320m in net financial debt and other liabilities.

FSI intends to reinvest in Cedacri as a minority shareholder, doubling the capital invested in the company in 2017.

Ion has also acquired the remaining 73% stake in the company, which was owned by a pool of Italian banks: Banca Mediolanum (15.6%); Cassa di Risparmio di Asti (11.1%); Banco di Desio e della Brianza (10.1%); BPER Banca (7.5%); Banca Popolare di Bari (6.6%); Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano (6.5%); Banca del Piemonte (4.2%); Credito Emiliano (3.9%); Cassa di Sovvenzioni e Risparmio fra il Personale della Banca d'Italia (2.0%); Società Reale Mutua di Assicurazioni (1.3%); Banca del Fucino (1.1%); Banca Valsabbina (1.1%); Cassa di Risparmio di Cento (1.0%); and Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra (1.0%).

FSI acquired a 27.1% stake in Cedacri via its €1.4bn FSI I fund in December 2017. The deal involved an equity commitment of around €99m, valuing Cedacri at more than €365m – or 8.5x its estimated 2017 EBITDA.

FSI I invests in Italian companies with an annual turnover in the €100m-1bn range, operating primarily in the industrial and financial technology industries. The vehicle deploys €80-200m to acquire primarily minority stakes and is open to co-investments, especially when deploying large equity tickets. FSI I is currently almost 40% invested, the GP told Unquote.

Under FSI's ownership, Cedacri appointed a new CEO, Corrado Sciolla, scaled up its team from 1,500 to 2,400 staff, increased its revenues, and accelerated its organic and inorganic growth. The company inked several add-ons, including the purchase of banking compliance software developer Oasi, acquired from Nexi in January 2019; and the acquisition of Cad It, a software company for the financial industry, bought in November 2019.

Company
Established in 1976 and headquartered in Collecchio, near Parma, Cedacri is an IT outsourcing service for banks and financial institutions.

Employing 2,400 staff, the company serves 200 clients and manages two data centres.

Cedacri generated EBITDA of €100m from revenues of €400m in 2020.

People
FSI – Maurizio Tamagnini (CEO).
Cedacri – Corrado Sciolla (CEO).

Advisers
Vendors – Deutsche Bank (corporate finance); Pedersoli Studio Legale (legal).
Company – Gianni & Origoni (legal); Bonelli Erede (legal); Boston Consulting Group (corporate finance); Deloitte (financial due diligence); Studio Legale Tributario FRM (tax).