PE Deals

Alto Capital waves goodbye to BIA

BF, the holding company of Bonifiche Ferraresi group, has bought the company.

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  • BIA is a producer and distributor of couscous
  • The company expects to achieve a total turnover of approximately €42 million in 2022, a more than 30% increase on 2021
  • Alto Capital IV acquired BIA in January 2019 from the Ricci family

Alto Capital announced it has sold its 95 percent stake in BIA, a producer and distributor of couscous, to BF, the holding company of Bonifiche Ferraresi. BIA is headquartered in Argenta, Italy and expects to achieve a total turnover of approximately €42 million in 2022, more than 30 percent higher than 2021.

BIA was acquired by Alto Capital IV in January 2019 from the Ricci family. The deal is the fund’s fourth divestment following the exits of OFI, CEI and Tricobiotos, which PE Hub Europe reported in August. The exits registered an overall weighted IRR of more than 41 percent.

It is the ninth exit in the food sector for funds managed by Alto.

Alto Partners is a Milan-based private equity firm that looks to invest in small to medium-sized Italian businesses. It was founded in 2000 and has invested €664 million across four funds in 45 companies.

Bonifiche Ferraresi is an agriculture company headquartered in Ferrara, Italy.