Hat Holding acquires Italian chair producer Luxy for €5m

Amedeo Goria
17 February 2016

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Italian investor Hat Holding has acquired chair designer Luxy in a €5m MBO from private equity backers Opera and Quadrivio.

Italian GPs Opera (which previously held a 72.7% stake) and Quadrivio (7.3%), and the Marchesini family office (20%) exited the business after five years. The management board, led by Libero Gregoletto, acquired 4% of the company's shares.

According to HAT CEO Ignazio Castiglioni, the fresh capital is expected to support the company's expansion; Hat Holding and the management board will consider bolting on complementary companies.

This is the 11th transaction for the fund, which targets Italian SMEs with enterprise value in the €10-75m bracket. In January 2016 the vehicle completed an exit from Assist, reaping a 5.2x money multiple, and in February 2016 scored 1.6x money when exiting furniture and clothing producer Tecna.

Castiglioni says that HAT Holding is currently considering two new investments in Italy, in the road safety and animal retail sectors.

At the time of publication, the firm managed €42m in assets and invested on behalf of public investors including Fondo Italiano d'Investimento as well as 25 high-net-worth Italian entrepreneurs, such as Luigi Abete, Luciano Cimmino and Giuseppe Cornetto Bourlot.

Debt
Banca Mps provided a unitranche debt package amounting to €2.3m, with a 5-year lifespan and a Euribor+2.7% rate.

Previous funding
In 2011, Opera and Quadrivio, together with family office Marchesini, acquired the business from Italian GPs Cape Natixis and Fondamenta.

Company
Luxy is headquartered in Vicenza and was founded in 1976. The business designs and produces chairs and generated €9m of revenues in 2015 with a 12% EBITDA margin. At the time of publication, the company employed 43 staff.

People
Hat Holding – Nino Attanasio (chair); Ignazio Castiglioni (CEO).
Luxy – Libero Gregoletto (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – LMS (legal); KPMG (financial due diligence); Cassiopea Partners (corporate finance).
Company – Legance Studio Legale (legal).
Vendor – NCTM (legal); Ethica Corporate Finance (corporate finance).