Astorg has agreed to sell its portfolio company Surfaces Group to TA Associates.
Surfaces Group is a supplier of abrasive tools and consumables used in the manufacturing process of high-end materials. The group’s products are used to smoothen, cut, and polish ceramic tiles, stone slabs, glass panes and metal objects.
Surfaces has annual revenues of over €100 million ($118 million) and more than 500 employees. The company’s operations are spread over 4 business divisions with 13 production plants and 7 branch offices, serving more than 1,800 clients in 80 countries. The company, with more than 500 employees, is headquartered near Milan in Cenate Sotto, Italy and has seven locations in Northern Italy. Surfaces Group is led by CEO Pierluigi Dinelli and has international operating subsidiaries in the US, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, and India.
Surfaces was formed in 2016 following the merger of Italian companies Surfaces Technological Abrasives and ADI. The combined business was acquired by Astorg in July 2017.
“We would like to thank Astorg for their support over these past three years,” said Mr. Dinelli. “The Astorg team has been an instrumental contributor to the organic growth, international expansion as well as the M&A strategy of the company. We welcome our new partner TA Associates, a leading growth investor, who shares our vision and ambition to continue our growth trajectory and with a long track-record of helping businesses expand into additional international and opportunistic markets.”
Astorg
invests in European-based companies that have enterprise values from €200 million to €1 billion. The firm invests across a range of industries but has a specific interest in technology-based industrial companies, healthcare, and business-to-business professional services. Astorg has assets under management of over €8 billion and has offices in London, Paris, New York, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, and Milan. Astorg’s investment in Surfaces Group was led by Partner Lorenzo Zamboni.
“Surfaces Group is a unique company with a high-quality business model, a leading market position and what we believe are best-in-class products and customer services, with multiple potential levers of growth both organically and through acquisitions,” said Patrick Sader, a managing director at TA. “We are thrilled to partner with Pierluigi and the management team to help the company pursue its domestic and international expansion.”
TA Associates makes equity investments of $75 million to $500 million in middle-market growth companies that are active in technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer, and business services. In April 2019, TA held a first, final, and hard cap closing of its thirteenth fund, TA XIII LP, with total capital commitments of $8.5 billion. The firm was founded in 1968 and has more than 85 investment professionals with offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai, and Hong Kong.
TA’s buy of Surfaces is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Private Equity Professional | August 12, 2020
