CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII ("CVC Funds") is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire 100% of the leading Italian quick-service restaurant chain, La Piadineria ("the Company"), from funds advised by Permira, the global private equity firm.
La Piadineria is a market leader in the growing Italian quick-service restaurant space, with more than 400 locations in city centres, malls, retail parks and travel hubs across the country. The Company offers freshly made, high-quality “Piadinas”, flatbreads which are a symbol of Italian heritage and are cooked entirely on premise and filled according to customers’ wishes. La Piadineria is proud to use fresh, high-quality, made in Italy ingredients while maintaining a strong value-for-money proposition to customers. Since its creation, La Piadineria has grown at an extraordinary pace that has allowed it to become the #2 restaurant chain in Italy, continuously refining processes, improving technology and investing in its staff training and development. Today, La Piadineria has a team of over 2,500 people serving 70,000 customers every day.
The Permira funds acquired La Piadineria at the beginning of 2018 and have supported the management team in the Company’s transformation and growth, with both revenues and EBITDA growing three-fold under the funds’ ownership, while DOS and employee numbers have increased from 160 to 400 and c.1,000 to more than 2,500 respectively.
We are thrilled to support a strong business like La Piadineria, which has put product quality and customer satisfaction at the core of its value proposition
Alessandro Baccarin Director at CVC
Alessandro Baccarin, Director at CVC, said: “We are thrilled to support a strong business like La Piadineria, which has put product quality and customer satisfaction at the core of its value proposition, while being a top performer in terms of operational excellence thanks to uniquely designed store formats and operations. CVC Funds will support the further growth journey of the Company, expanding its presence in Italy whilst diversifying across other quick-service formats as well as internationally. We look forward to working with Andrea Valota and his experienced management team to drive the next chapter of La Piadineria’s successful history.”
Francesco Pascalizi, Partner and Head of Italy at Permira, added: “We would like to thank Donato Romano, Andrea Valota and the entire La Piadineria team for their exceptional work in growing the Company over the past six years. We are pleased to have partnered with the company on this journey and proud that La Piadineria is today one of the most successful chains in the Italian restaurant market”.
Giorgio Dinaro, Principal at Permira, commented: “La Piadineria has many of the traits that Permira targets in its investments, as a high-growth and highly profitable consumer platform. We are thrilled that our partnership has enabled the sustainable growth of the business, as well as continuing our successful track record in the Consumer sector.”
Andrea Valota, CEO of Gruppo La Piadineria, commented: “We are very proud of the work done with Permira and we thank them for their support and help over the last years. We are delighted about the transaction with CVC and are convinced that in the next few years our Group will be able to exploit the growth opportunities that the market still offers us. Our ambition is to consolidate the leadership of La Piadineria in Italy and accelerate our expansion abroad.”
Donato Romano, Chairman of Gruppo La Piadineria, added: “I would like to thank the Permira team for the partnership and our successful journey together, and I am confident that La Piadineria will continue its expansion under the leadership of Andrea Valota and the stewardship of CVC.”
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
CVC was advised by Lazard, Jefferies, PedersoliGattai, Bain & Co., OC&C, Alvarez & Marsal, New Deal Advisors, Facchini Rossi Michelutti.
Permira was advised by Rothschild & Co, Mediobanca, Legance, BCG, E&Y, Simon-Kucher, Maisto & Associati.