Aksia Capital buys Italian potato gnocchi producer

Aksia Capital has acquired Master Srl, an Italian producer of fresh potato gnocchi. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

Milan, 30 September 2021 – Aksìa Capital V, a fund managed by the Aksìa Group, announces the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Master Srl, a company specialised in the production and sale of high-end gnocchi produced directly from fresh potatoes and other Italian specialities (e.g. spatzle).

This is the sixth investment of the Aksìa Capital V fund in two years since launch, confirming its extensive expertise in the food sector achieved thanks to the operations executed for its portfolio companies Valpizza, Nappi and CRM – Casa della Piada, with which Aksìa has acquired a unique position in Italy, establishing itself among the most active private equity funds.

The acquisition of Master is part of the development plan designed by Aksìa Capital V aimed at consolidating the company’s position in the sector and establishing a leading strategic platform in the market of gnocchi, fresh pasta and ready meals of the highest quality. By quickly reinforcing the management, supported by a team of experts with 30 years of presence in the market, Aksìa Capital V aims to accelerate Master’s domestic and international expansion by taking advantage of the quality of its products, its attention to process innovation and its solid sales network.

Founded in 1992 in Vedelago, Treviso by Adriano Bianco and Giovanni Favretto, Master is one of the leading Italian players in the premium segment of the gnocchi market, specialising in high quality chilled products starting from fresh potatoes. The company has operations in Italy and in more than 15 foreign countries and distributes its products through mass distribution retailers, both under its own brand (mainly the Mamma Emma brand) and for private labels. Confirming the validity of the growth plan developed by Aksìa Group, the founders Adriano Bianco and Giovanni Favretto decided to reinvest in the company, respectively retaining their operational roles of Chairman and CEO.

“The acquisition of Master has a significant strategic potential which we have invested in to create an aggregate platform in a market that offers important opportunities for consolidation”, commented Marco Rayneri, Managing Partner of Aksìa Group. “Our goal is to accelerate the expansion of Master, already a top Italian player, and further consolidate its leadership abroad as well. For this reason, we are also evaluating new investments in complementary segments with the aim of penetrating selected geographic markets”.

Adriano Bianco and Giovanni Favretto, founders of Master, added: “We’re excited about the growth project that Aksìa presented to us. We hadn’t considered selling but we found them to be the ideal partner to share Master’s development with. For this reason, we decided to reinvest by making our skills available to the company, with the knowledge that thanks to their support we can create a leading group selling premium products in the market of gnocchi, fresh pasta and ready meals”.

ADVISOR
Aksìa Group was assisted by Long Term Partners / OCC&C for the business and market due diligence, by EY for financial aspects, for ESG due diligence and debt advisory; by the firm Giliberti Triscornia e Associati for legal aspects; by the firm De Luca & Partners for labour law aspects and finally by the firm Russo De Rosa Associati for tax matters and the structuring of the operation.

The financing of the operation was organised and structured by Banca Ifis, assisted by the Dentons Law Firm.

The notary Arrigo Roveda assisted the parties during the closing phase.