Good morning Eurohubsters, Craig McGlashan here with the Dealflow.
I’ve been hearing a lot from dealmakers about how the luxury retail sector – and the companies that service it – are well-insulated from economic downturns. That was the case when I spoke to BC Partners this week about their recent investment in Italian luxury packaging maker Fedrigoni. As I was doing that, it turned out that Aksìa Group was making a similar play.
High-end. The Milan-based firm announced on Monday that it has bought a majority stake in Gommatex Spalmati. Gommatex operates out of Prato, Italy, and specialises in the production of high-quality, sustainable and customisable coagulated and coated fabrics for use by major fashion and luxury brands.
“We are extremely excited to invest in a new sector, high-end luxury, with a company like Gommatex that is internationally unique and a historical partner of luxury brands,” said Sara Perillo, partner at Aksìa Group. “Strong innovation capacity and orientation towards sustainability, both in processes and products, were considered the drivers for the investment, which includes a development plan in the domestic and foreign markets through a buy-and-build strategy aimed at creating an aggregative supply chain hub.”
Aksìa Group was founded in 1997 and invests in Italian lower-middle-market companies that it can grow organically and via M&A. It typically invests in family or founder-owned businesses. It has completed over 50 deals and has invested over €500 million.
Checking in. We’re sensing that dealflow is slowing down a little as we head into August and the industry takes a well deserved break (although drop me a note at craig.m@peimedia.com if you think we’re wrong!). But an Accel-KKR portfolio company brought a deal yesterday that had a summer holiday theme.
Cendyn announced the purchase of Digitalhotelier, a London-based provider of digital solutions for hotels including integrated distribution, design, development and data intelligence solutions.
Boca Raton, Florida-headquartered Cendyn is a provider of technology solutions for hoteliers across the globe. It has been a portfolio company of Menlo Park, California-headquartered Accel-KKR since 2016.
“Our mission at Cendyn is to provide hoteliers around the globe with innovative technology solutions that enable deeper, more profitable guest relationships by empowering hotel staff with the data they need at every touchpoint in the guest journey,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO and president at Cendyn. “This acquisition enables us to double-down on that mission at a time when hoteliers are being forced to do more with less. We are excited to be working with the entire talented Digitalhotelier team to rapidly integrate the companies and technology, so we can continue to grow the combined business together.”
Cendyn and Digitalhotelier want to provide a data-driven approach to demand generation and will look to offer technology-enabled solutions for the hospitality industry. Cendyn will expand its distribution and eCommerce capabilities globally off via the acquisition.
That’s it from me – I’ll see you on Friday.
Cheers,
Craig
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