Kyma Investment Partners SGR (KYMA), an asset management company with a EUR130 million target size for its first fund dedicated to the digital transformation of Italian SMEs and specific focus on Education and Information Technology, has held its first closing at around EUR100 million.
The funds were raised from primary institutional investors, including European Investment Fund (as anchor investor) and Fondo Italiano d’Investimento (as anchor investor), and from various family offices and High Net Worth Individuals.
Concurrently with the first closing of the fund, KYMA entered a binding agreement to acquire the majority of Datlas Srl (Datlas), one of the most innovative Italian players within the sector of Data Validation and Data Integration services managed with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tools integrated within the proprietary “DOME” platform. The transaction (whose closing is expected to take place in the first half of October) envisages the acquisition of 70% of the share capital by KYMA, with the Management team to reinvest on the remaining share.
Datlas, founded in 2017 by Fabrizio Soru (Founding Partner and CEO) supported by a few entrepreneurs, managers and capital providers, grew at a truly exceptional pace in the last few years (c60 per cent CAGR in the ’18-’21 period). Notwithstanding the pandemic lasting effects on the global and Italian economies, such performance is proving resilient through 2021 and the company is experiencing strong growth, with expected revenue above EUR12 million (+30 per cent vs 2020) and EBITDA of EUR1.8 million.
Gianluca Losi (Partner of KYMA) says: “We were impressed by Datlas’ extraordinary growth track record of the last few years, stemming from a unique combination of the Management team process skills, innovative services and one of the most advanced proprietary technological platforms in the Italian market. Datlas operates in a fast-growing market and we can’t wait to start supporting Fabrizio Soru and his team to develop new services and applications and expand in new markets. Datlas clearly represents what Kyma looks for in a growth buy-out transaction: an asset with high technological content coupled with a solid and scalable business model, run by an ambitious Management team.”
Datlas partners with its customers to embark on digital transformation journeys, offering technology and services with the Platform as a Service (BPaaS) model, coupled with distinctive process management skills and an exclusive proprietary technological platform. Such platform, dynamic and flexible, results in data validation and verification architectures applicable to KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYS (Know Your Suppliers) processes by leveraging integrated Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence algorithms.
Thanks to the DOME platform and the deep knowledge of multiple verticals, Datlas is capable to develop innovative solutions fully compliant with requirements imposed by the Regulator on several matters undergoing a profound evolutionary path, such as Fraud Detection and Anti Money Laundering in various markets such as banking, insurance, Media & Telco, Retail & GDO and Manufacturing. KYMA will support Datlas and its Management team to accelerate the path of growth by enhancing DOME with the acquisition and development of Process Mining and Data Analytics skills, which will complement Datlas’ current offering and reposition the company in an international context as a highly qualified player within Data Validation and Data Integration services.
Throughout this path of value creation, KYMA will leverage on the unique mix of operating, technological and digital competences contributed by Carlo Privitera (Operating Digital Partner of KYMA), Andrea Rangone and Stefano Mainetti (Business Partners of KYMA).
Fabrizio Soru (Founding Partner and CEO of Datlas) says: “We were looking for a partner which would share with us the vision to build an ecosystem capable of fully supporting business customers in the value maximisation of data available to them. Most importantly, we were looking for a partner which would believe in Datlas as a player capable to support the Italian economic system and its enterprises in a radical cultural shift toward a reinterpretation of data management and integration processes. Gianluca Losi and all KYMA’s Partners astonished us for their talent to provide our visions with depth, proving the mastery to understand the transformational opportunities presented by the national and international markets. Since our initial interactions, this approach allowed to craft a comprehensive growth plan that will enable Datlas to cover the entire lifecycle of company information: from On-boarding and Data Autentication up to more sophisticated Compliance verifications supporting authorisation and settlement processes.”
For aspects related to the Fund internal regulations, KYMA was assisted by KL&Gates (with its partner Giovanni Meschia). For the Datlas transaction, KYMA was assisted by Gattai Minoli & Partners (with the counsel Lorenzo Fabbrini) for the legal aspects and by Deloitte (with its partners Guido Manzella and Valentina Santini) for the financial and tax due diligence. Datlas and its shareholders were assisted by NCTM and Nunziante Magrone for contractual matters.
