Three Hills Capital Partners (THCP) is to sell its stake and its debt position in Dedalus Holding, owner of Dedalus Spa.
Dedalus is a provider of healthcare software systems in Italy and has recently announced the acquisition of Noemalife to create the largest software operator in the Italian healthcare sector, and one of the largest players in Europe.
Following the signing of the agreement, Ardian will acquire 60 per cent of Dedalus Holding, including 10.41 per cent from Dedalus’ founder Giorgio Moretti, 14 per cent from HC Leo (30 per cent owned by THCP and 70 per cent by Hutton Collins) and 35.59 per cent from Mandarin Capital Partners.
The agreement envisages the exit of HC Leo from the debt investment made in Dedalus Holding.
Moretti will hold the remaining 40 per cent of the outstanding shares.
In 2013, THCP invested in the company alongside Hutton Collins to support the controlling shareholder to buy-out minorities and to develop the business internationally. THCP’s team, managing the investment in its entirety, has helped Dedalus’ management to acquire its main competitor, NoemaLife. The combined Dedalus – Noemalife is targeting to reach an EBITDA in excess of EUR50 million in the near future. In 2013, Dedalus generated an EBITDA of EUR17 million.
Moretti says: “The partnership established with the THCP team has been characterised by great harmony and strong pragmatism. We have shared visions and dealt together with the complexity of the current macroeconomic environment in the last three years when both Dedalus and myself have benefited from their useful support. The THCP team has been close to us and supportive in the last acquisition of Noemalife which has almost doubled the size of our business and they have also shared my vision that it has now started a new chapter of Dedalus’ growth story with the need of a large financial partner to support the consolidation strategy.”
Mauro Moretti, founder and managing partner of Three Hills Capital Partners, says: “We are delighted to have been involved in the growth of Dedalus over these last few years. Working with enthusiasm alongside the management team led by the successful vision of Giorgio Moretti, we have supported the company in this critical stage of its development contributing to reach this remarkable outcome with the acquisition of Noemalife. The deal also proves the success of our strategy of supporting companies with a hands on approach in decisive moments like M&A processes, to identify the conditions to materialize a profitable exit for the fund. We wish to Giorgio, the management team and Ardian all the best in continuing the successful growth trajectory of the business.”
