Hutton Collins, a preferred equity capital specialist, has completed a EUR45m investment in Aquafil, a European producer of fibres for textile flooring.
Hutton Collins, a preferred equity capital specialist, has completed a EUR45m investment in Aquafil, a European producer of fibres for textile flooring.
Aquafil employs 1,800 people worldwide and had revenues of EUR380.7m in 2008.
This is the second investment Hutton Collins has made in Italy and is one of the largest private equity transactions at local level since the beginning of 2009. Aquafil is the first investment in Hutton Collins Fund III of approximately EUR600m.
Aquafil, founded in 1969 in Arco di Trento (Italy), is a dominant player in the Nylon 6 synthetic fibre market with a specific focus on the manufacture of fibres for textile flooring. It also has a significant presence in the engineering plastics and special textile fibres sectors and has production plants in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, the US and Asia.
Hutton Collins’ capital injection, by means of a preferred equity instrument, will accelerate the company’s growth strategy which is focused on the development of Econyl, an environmentally sustainable product, and expansion into the Asian market.
The Bonazzi Group, which currently owns Aquafil, will retain a majority holding and overall control of the company.
Hutton Collins specialises in preferred equity capital, a form of equity finance that gives the PEC investor priority over ordinary equity holders in a company’s capital structure.
Giulio Bonazzi, chief executive of Aquafil, says: ‘Aquafil completed the first half of 2009 with good growth despite the difficult economic environment. The Bonazzi Group decided to partner with Hutton Collins to ensure we had the necessary resources to continue the company’s successful growth, to capitalise on our leadership of the European market and develop further in the US and Asia. In particular, we intend to accelerate investment in the field of sustainable products (Econyl) and in Asia, where the construction of a new plant will soon be completed. Recycled products and the development of Asian markets are the most important strategic projects for Aquafil in the near future."
Graham Hutton, co-founder, Hutton Collins, says: "As part of the investment strategy of our latest fund we intend to focus on the Italian market in a more systematic way. We believe our model fits very well with the characteristics of the Italian entrepreneurial system in that we will target, for the most part, minority partnership positions in the companies in which we will invest. The significant number of high quality businesses we have analysed in the last 12 months, culminating in our investment in Aquafil, has reinforced our determination to focus on the Italian market."
