Caffita up for sale, Lazard advising – sources

Caffita, a private equity-backed Italian manufacturer of coffee capsules and machines, is up for sale, several sources familiar with the situation said.

Alpha Private Equity, the private equity firm that bought Caffita in June 2013, has mandated Lazard to handle the sale process, the sources said. Cleary Gottlieb has been hired as legal adviser on behalf of Caffita, the first source said.

The auction kicked off recently with teasers dispatched to a wide number of potential buyers, a second and a third source said.

The sale relates to Alpha’s stake of around 63%, the same two sources said. The current managers, who hold the remaining shares in Caffita – Sergio Zappella, Giovanni Zaccanti, Mario Muttoni, Andrea Clementini and Roberto degli Esposti – do not intend to sell their holding, the
sources said.

At the end of November 2015, Alpha Private Equity received an unsolicited approach from an undisclosed private equity firm and decided to entertain talks, as reported by this news service. The parties did not reach an agreement.

Caffita had 2016 EBITDA in the region of EUR 40m-EUR 42m, a fourth source familiar said.

Caffita, founded 12 years ago as a spin-off from Saeco Vending, generated turnover of EUR 140m in 2015, 80% of which came from exports. Its net profit stood at EUR 5m, according to public documents.

A fifth source familiar said that Caffita makes 65% of its revenues from three main clients, one of them being Tchibo, representing 40%.

The company has doubled the size of its main production facility at Capriate, acquiring 25,000 sq m of buildings, in order to double the company’s annual production capacity and guarantee its growth until 2020, according to a media report.

Caffita and Lazard did not return calls for comment. Alpha declined to comment.

Caffita has about 200 employees and runs factories in Gaggio Montano (in the province of Bologna) and Rozzano (a small city close to Milan).

by Giovanni Amodeo and Antonio Vannuzzo in London and Micaela Osella in Milan