Cinven buys Arcaplanet from Permira in €1bn-plus deal

Private equity firm Cinven has acquired a majority stake in Arcaplanet, a pet care retail chain in Italy, from Permira and co-investor Winch Capital Partners. Cinven acquired Arcaplanet for more than €1bn. As part of the deal, Cinven will back Arcaplanet to acquire Maxi Zoo Italia, the third largest pet care operator.

Headquartered in Italy, Arcaplanet was founded in 1995 by CEO, Michele Foppiani. Arcaplanet is a leading omnichannel pet care brand in Italy and offers a broad range of premium pet care products, including its own exclusive brands. Arcaplanet is now present in 17 regions across Italy, serving more than 1.3 million loyal customers through 380 stores and its directly managed online platform.

The Permira funds acquired Arcaplanet in 2016, and over the last five years have supported the company in its significant growth and transformation, focusing on the development of a successful omnichannel proposition and the growth of a wide range of high-quality own exclusive brands. The company has also executed a successful M&A strategy, including five bolt-on acquisitions and the transformational acquisition of the Fortesan chain. Under the Permira funds’ ownership, Arcaplanet’s revenues and EBITDA respectively grew from €150m and €20m at entry to €400m and €65m expected for 2021.

Francesco Pascalizi, Partner and Head of Italy at Permira, said: “We would like to thank Michele Foppiani and the entire Arcaplanet team for their exceptional work in growing Arcaplanet over the past five years, delivering significant value. Arcaplanet has many of the traits that Permira targets in an investment, as a high-growth consumer platform with a growing online presence, and we are pleased that our partnership has continued our successful track record in the sector and enabled the sustainable growth of the company. Lastly, I would also take the opportunity to thank our co-investor, Winch Capital Partners, which, since the Fortesan acquisition, has been an excellent partner throughout this exciting value creation journey.”

BofA Securities and Mediobanca acted as financial advisors to the Permira Funds. Giliberti, Triscornia & Associati, EY, OC&C / LTP, Maisto & Associati also acted as advisors on the transaction.

Source: Press Release