Clessidra Sgr has finalised the acquisition of a majority stake in Botter SpA, a Venetian company among the world’s leading exporters of Italian wine owned by the Botter family and IDeA Taste of Italy fund, managed by DeA Capital Alternative Funds.
The Botter family will support Clessidra in this transaction by reinvesting in the company, continuing to play a key operational role, while ensuring management continuity. Italmobiliare and Capital Dynamics, investors in Clessidra Capital Partners 3 fund, will take part as co-investors in the deal. IDeA Taste of Italy has yielded its entire stake.
Founded by Carlo Botter in 1928 in Fossalta di Piave (Venice), the company bottles and markets various types of wine, still and sparkling. Since the 1950s, the company has achieved a constant growth in the marketing of bottled wines, through organic growth in Italy and international expansion. The company’s growth has been sustained thanks to the strong positioning on some of the most successful Italian Denomination of Origin at international level, such as Prosecco Asolo DOCG, Pinot Grigio Friuli Grave DOC and Primitivo. In 2020, Botter reported revenues of approximately EUR230 million, a 6 per cent increase compared to 2019, notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. The multi-territorial approach in the origin of wines still characterises its commercial offering today. Botter exports 98 per cent of its production, mainly to the USA, Germany, the UK and Scandinavian countries.
Clessidra’s investment has also been eased by Botter’s competitive positioning, as well as its internationally oriented approach favoured by a vast and diversified choice of denomination and highly praised labels in key markets for the export of Italian wine.
Clessidra’s deal team was led by Managing Director Francesco Colli, flanked by Investment Director Giulio Torregrossa and Associate Jacopo Tortorelli.
The investment in Botter marks the sixth transaction closed by Clessidra Capital Partners 3 fund, and the first since the appointment of Andrea Ottaviano as CEO of Private Equity.
Ottaviano says: “With Botter, Clessidra makes its entrance in the wine sector, a global market that already today is worth over EUR300 billion and, especially referring to the off-trade channel, has shown strong resilience even during this global health emergency. The growth of Botter will be fostered, other than by the natural development capacity in foreign markets, also by the fact that the company is a perfect platform for a strategy of targeted acquisitions with the aim of promoting the creation of an Italian leader in the sector. The strategic objective shared with the Botter family and the CEO Massimo Romani relies on a new distribution model of the product, based not only on affordable prices but also on quality and the ability to better understand consumer tastes and consumption trends.”
Pierluca Antolini, Managing Director of IDeA Taste of Italy, says: “We are proud to have accompanied Botter in an important path of growth during which the company has attracted new talents and managing skills, consolidated its production chains and expanded distribution, especially in Germany, the USA and China. We would like to thank the Botter family, the top management and all the employees in the company for the work we have carried out these years.”
Mediobanca acted as financial advisor to Clessidra. Law firms Gattai, Minoli, Agostinelli, Partners and MN Tax & Legal acted as legal advisors, while PwC provided financial due diligence and debt advisory and Bain & Co provided business due diligence. Alonzo Committeri & Partners advised on tax matters. NCTM firm provided assistance to IDeA Taste of Italy for this transaction. The Botter family was assisted by Van Berings for the legal profiles and by Belluzzo International Partners and Studio Faldini e Rossi for the fiscal aspects.
