Houlihan Lokey Advises Dolciaria Acquaviva

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Dolciaria Acquaviva S.p.A. has been acquired by Ergon Capital Partners. The Acquaviva family will reinvest into the deal and Pierluigi Acquaviva will continue to lead the business as CEO. The transaction closed on 31 July 2019.

Founded in 1979, Dolciaria Acquaviva is a leading company in the Italian frozen bakery sector. The company's range of frozen bakery products consists of more than 500 references between sweet and savoury, including vegan product lines. Dolciaria Acquaviva operates through one manufacturing plant in the Naples area of Southern Italy, characterized by cutting-edge systems with high-production capacity. The company administers its products through distributors, modern trades, and direct branches with more than 70 agents.

Ergon is a mid-market private equity investment company in excess of €1.0 billion of assets under management from select European institutional investors and family offices, including Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, through its fully-owned subsidiary Sienna Capital, as a cornerstone investor. Since its inception in 2005 with over successive investment programs, Ergon has raised approximately €1.6 billion, invested in 23 companies (of which seven are located in the Benelux, three in France, three in Germany, eight in Italy, and two in Spain), and completed 44 add-on acquisitions for a total aggregate transaction value in excess of €4 billion.

Houlihan Lokey served as sole financial advisor to Dolciaria Acquaviva throughout the sale process, from the preparation of the initial marketing material for the company and the initial contacts with potential buyers to the final negotiation with the counterparties. 

The transaction demonstrates Houlihan Lokey's strength in the food sector as well as the benefits of deep local relationships, coupled with industry expertise. All these provided for achieving superior valuation and outcomes for the client.