Progressio exits Save the Duck to L’Occitane bosses

Geiger and Hoffmann, who already owned a minority stake in the business, invested through funds including Société D'Investissements Cime S.A. and Anatra Investments Limited. They will have an 80% stake in the business, while the remaining 20% will be held by Nicolas Bargi, founder and CEO of Save the Duck, who will continue in his position, according to a press release.

Progressio has fully exited the investment alongside other minority shareholders.

Filippo Gaggini, managing partner at the sponsor, told Unquote it “received a pre-emptive offer [for Save the Duck] from our minority shareholders. It was an important step for the company as Nicolas Bargi knows the entrepreneurs well and they are experts in retail and growing companies.”

The deal marks the second exit by the Progressio Investimenti III fund, which has made eight investments to date and is 68% deployed, Gaggini said. The vehicle, which held a final close on its hard-cap EUR 250m in July 2019, targets Italian mid-market companies with EUR 30m- EUR 150m revenues and EUR 5m- EUR 15m EBITDA, operating across the digital, mechanical engineering, beverages, food, chemicals, luxury goods, and fashion sectors, according to Unquote Data.

Mergermarket reported in April 2022 that Save the Duck received pre-emptive approaches from an unnamed strategic buyer as part of an auction process ran by Mediobanca. The report also highlighted Pregressio’s stake would be sold while Bargi’s would remain invested in the company. Forest, the parent company, generated EUR 48m turnover and was being marketed off around EUR 12m in 2022 EBITDA, according to the article. 

Under Progressio’s ownerships since 2018, the outdoor clothing brand achieved further international growth while expanding at a double-digit rate year on year, and doubling its profits in three years from EUR 30m to a forecasted EUR 64m in 2022. The business had 60% of its turnover from outside Italy and its main markets are the US and Germany, said Gaggini. Save the Duck will now enter the next stage of international growth with the support of Hoffman and Geiger and continued focus on sustainability, according to the press release.

Company
Parent group Forest was established in 1914 by Forest Bargi, the grandfather of Nicolas Bargi, who then launched Save the Duck in 2012. The brand uses thermo-insulating padding to produce 100% animal-free and cruelty-free outwear. The group had a consolidated revenue of EUR 47.3m in 2021 and aims to exceed EUR 64m in 2022, with an expected margin of 20%, according to Gaggini. It is present in 42 countries including Italy, Germany, the UK and the US, and it has 70 staff.

People
Save the Duck - Nicholas Bargi (founder, CEO).
Progressio - Angelo Piero La Runa (partner); Filippo Gaggini (managing partner).
L'Occitane - Reinold Geiger (chairman); André Hoffmann (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Mediobanca (corporate finance); Linklaters (legal); Studio Russo De Rosa Associati (tax due diligence); EY (financial due diligence); Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom (legal); Studio Gattai Minoli Partners (legal).

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• Topics
• Exits
• Buyouts
• Southern Europe
• Consumer
• Progressio SGR
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