CVC and CDP Equity buy Maticmind from Fondo Italiano d’Investimento’s FICC

• CVC and CDP Equity’s investment will support Maticmind’s growth strategy
• CVC Fund VIII will own 70% of Maticmind 
• CDP Equity and Carmine Saladino, chairman of Maticmind, will own 15% each

CVC Fund VIII and CDP Equity announced on Wednesday that they have signed a definitive agreement to buy 100% of Maticmind from Fondo Italiano d’Investimento’s FICC.

Upon completion, CVC will own 70% of Maticmind. Maticmind chairman Carmine Saladino and CDP Equity will own 15% each. Maticmind has also announced the purchase of SIO, an Italian cybersecurity and intelligence technologies company headquartered in Cantù.

Maticmind is a Milan-based IT company that specialises in designing, integrating and managing tech solutions across all areas of IT and communications. CVC and CDP’s investment will support Maticmind’s growth strategy as the company looks to build out its solutions in networking, cybersecurity, datacentres, cloud solutions and internet of things.

Luxembourg-based CVC is a global alternative investment manager that invests across private equity, secondaries and credit. Its private equity platform manages €85 billion of assets and employs four strategies: Europe/Americas, Asia, strategic opportunities and growth.

“We are thrilled to invest in Maticmind, a true innovator in the IT space that is playing a critical role in the digitalisation journey of Italy and in the development of a national hub for intelligence technologies,” said Giorgio De Palma, partner at CVC.

“We are delighted to partner on this investment with CDP Equity and Carmine Saladino, who will provide enormous support to the growth of the company, especially in cyber technologies,” added Andrea Peyracchia, senior managing director at CVC.

CDP Equity is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and is a long-term investor across venture capital, private equity and private debt. It looks to invest in companies that are of significant national interest in Italy through direct and indirect shareholdings. To date it has invested €9.7 billion and has a portfolio of 15 companies.

Pierpaolo Di Stefano, CDP Equity’s CEO, said that “with the investment in Maticmind, we are pursuing our strategy aimed at implementing the guidelines of the CDP Group’s 2022-2024 business plan which, for the digitisation pillar, has identified four areas of interest represented by development of connectivity infrastructure; support for the digitisation of businesses and the public administration and strengthening of digital security.

“The transaction is also consistent with the equity investment portfolio rotation principle. Finally, the CDP Group, as an investor in the funds managed by FII, will benefit from the distribution of proceeds by FII in conjunction with the sale of its stake in Maticmind, which will be partially redeployed to fund the transaction.”

During the partnership with Fondo Italiano d’Investimento (FII), Maticmind’s revenues have grown by 50% to over €400 million and it has completed six add-on acquisitions.

“We are proud to have been a part of the growth journey of Carmine Saladino and Maticmind,” said Gianpaolo Di Dio, senior partner and chief investment officer at FII. “The business has grown by 50 percent with revenue in excess of €400 million and now Maticmind is now ready for the next step of growth with new shareholders.”

“In less than two years we have completed six acquisitions, and thanks to the effort of the entrepreneur and the entire management team the company is now well positioned in new technologies and value-added services, including cybersecurity and cloud solutions,” added Aldo Di Bernardo, senior partner at FII.