BC Partners, a leading international investment firm, alongside the Vacchi family, has completed the take private of IMA Group, a specialist in the production of automatic packaging machines.
The business has been fully delisted from the Milan stock exchange and BC Partners and the Vacchi family now control 100 per cent of IMA.
Founded in 1961 in Bologna, Italy, IMA Group is an established global leader in its market, employing approximately 6,200 people in 45 production plants across the world. It specialises in the design and manufacturing of automatic machines for the processing and packaging of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foods and beverages, as well as a material presence in electric motor production processes – and in the last year has proven itself to be more valuable than ever, supplying many of the worlds pharmaceutical companies, and international government bodies, with Covid-19 vaccine production lines and face-mask production machinery.
The acquisition – which was negotiated and finalised during the Covid-19 pandemic – is one of the largest take-private deals on a European stock exchange, and highlights BC Partners’ strategy of investing in market leaders with strong management teams and multiple value-creation levers.
Stefano Ferraresi, Partner at BC Partners, says: “We are thrilled to welcome IMA to the BC Partners portfolio and look forward to working with the Vacchi family and IMA’s management team to support its next stage of growth through strategic investments, adoption of new technologies and maximising opportunities for organic growth”.
Alberto Vacchi, Chairman and CEO of IMA, says: “We welcome this new partnership with BC Partners, who share our vision for the future of our group. Their wealth of experience will be critical in helping us continue to evolve, building on the success we have already achieved to cement our position as a world leader in our sector.”
