Unigrains launches Italian unit with EUR 80m-100m investment plan

Ero Partsakoulaki
12 October 2022

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French agri-food investor Unigrains has opened a Milan-based subsidiary as it seeks to invest in mid-sized Italian agri-food companies

Unigrains Italia aims to invest EUR 80m to EUR 100m within the next five years, directly and via equity capital, in a dozen companies all across the agri-food value chain.

It will target companies with enterprise value between EUR 30m and EUR 120m and equity tickets between EUR 8m-25m.

Investments are set to support the companies' development projects through both organic and external growth, as well as through internationalization or shareholder transitions.

The launching of the new subsidiary is part of the firm's plans to establish itself as the reference investor for agri-food companies in Western Europe, according to an announcement from the investor.

Unigrains Italia is also a step up from Fondo Agroalimentare Italiano (FAI), an investment fund sponsored by Unigrains, with more resources and able to target larger businesses compared to FAI and will also invest in mid-cap companies, a Unigrains spokesperson told Unquote.

FAI is investing in Italian SMEs with revenues between EUR 10m-150m, according to Unquote Data. The vehicle, closed on EUR 55m in 2018, is expected to complete its investment program in the coming months having already completed two exits, according to the announcement.

As most of FAI's investments were completed in Northern and Central Italy, there might be a bigger concentration of deals in those regions, but the entire country is part of the investment scope, said the same source. The country's market dynamic is driven by more than 300 local agri-food companies with sales of EUR 40m-500m, according to the announcement.

Unigrains Italia will be run by the parent company's Italian investment team, led by Francesco Orazi, head of Unigrains in Italy, alongside investment directors Stefano Masini and Alfredo Cicognani. The team has been with Unigrains since 2016 and also manages FAI, according to the announcement.

"As the team has already been in place there is already a strong pipeline for this new investment program," the spokesperson said. "The capital is coming from Unigrains balance sheet which provides flexibility and a long-term approach that will allow the investments rate to be in line with market opportunities and so there could be anything from one, two, three investments per year, or even none."

Unigrains manages EUR 1bn and works with nearly 80 companies assisting them in capital restructurings, strategic investments and acquisitions, as well as their national and international growth, according to the announcement.

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Unigrains − Eric Thirouin (president), Maxime Vandoni (CEO), Francesco Orazi (head of Unigrains in Italy), Stefano Masini, Alfredo Cicognani (investment directors).