M&A is developing in niche industries

Sante Maiolica, in an interview for Mag - Financecommunity, commented on the growth of M&A in 2018 and its development in some niche industries, such as logistics, packaging and education. He also mentioned some of the most important M&A operations concluded in 2018 and assisted by Grant Thornton Financial Advisory Services.

The logistics industry

The logistics industry, according to Sante Maiolica, is now consolidating, as smaller entities, which went through a crisis, are merging to face the industry’s bigger operators, or are being acquired into the bigger companies themselves. In this industry, added value for enterprises derives from geolocation, i.e. a widespread coverage of a certain territory, e.g. northern Italy, and the ability to serve more customers.

One important M&A operation in this industry was the acquisition, by Trasporti Romagna - specialized in logistics and transport services for large-scale retail channel and food industry - of Blue City - one of the main Italian logistics operators in the frozen food industry.

The packaging industry

Internationalization is the winning strategy in the packaging industry, as well as the increase in production. According to Sante, companies operating in this market must have a strong production and distribution capacity, even abroad, since their clients - mainly operating in the food and pharmaceutical industries - are often multinational companies requiring a strong presence all over Europe.

Sirap-Gema, a company belonging to the Italmobiliare group and operating in the food packaging industry, acquired from Reynold Holdings Limited Kama Europe and Reynolds Food Packaging Spain, two companies operating in the rigid thermoformed food packaging market.

The education industry

The consolidation of the education industry is promoted by some funds specialized in private education, aiming at creating European platforms. Italy, according to Sante, is a strategic country and can rely on many schools of excellence. In fact, in Italy there are many growth opportunities, since the demand for a high-quality education has increased, for examples, in cities like Milan.

Bergamo International Studies was acquired by Inspired, a group operating in excellence private education and held by the private equity fund Educas. This is the third acquisition of the Group in Italy, after the acquisition of Saint Louis School and International School of Europe.

For further information, read the full article (only in Italian) and contact Sante Maiolica.