MILAN, May 21 (Class Editori) – The move made by IMA was significant. It is one of the Italian champions for growth and exports among the world leaders in the field of packaging machines, towards the e-mobility sector, where it was not present. The Group with 1.5 billion of turnover, led by Alberto Vacchi, CEO and major shareholder, acquired from the Charme Capital Partners fund and the founders, the majority of the ATOP company, in which it was already a 21% shareholder, thus bringing its 84% stake in the capital.
ATOP is a leading company in the field of automatic machines and lines for the production of stators and rotors for electric motors for the automotive sector, and in particular for E-mobility.
It was founded in Berberino Val d'Elsa (Florence) in 1993, ATOP operates with consolidated know-how combined with the search for innovative technological solutions, often developed in collaboration with customers. It works for 380 customers, including the most innovative global brands. Its core business is the design and construction of automatic machines and lines for electric traction for sustainable mobility, a sector in which it expects to achieve over 50% of turnover in 2019, as well as for traditional automotive, for household appliances and for power tools.
For the current year, ATOP – of which Amedeo Felisa is the chairman, who will remain a shareholder with 6%, while Luciano Santandrea is the founder and CEO – expects a turnover of 89 million euros for 2019, an increase of 50% compared to 60 million in 2018, an EBITDA of 25 million euros, up 59% compared to 15.8 million in 2018, about 250 employees, with over 50 hires in the last 2 years, and net financial of 13.5 million euros. The rapidly expanding reference market and the overall support that IMA will be able to provide to the company through its integration into the IMA Group organization, will guarantee excellent growth prospects.
It is simple to imagine that Vacchi, to whom goes the merit of the strong expansion of IMA in recent years, looks with great attention to the development of e-mobility in the new emerging markets of the East, and in particular in China and India, two countries where IMA has been active for years with important production and commercial structures that guarantee a privileged income towards the great retail customers. IMA in fact produces machines for packaging pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, coffee, tea, other food products and, more recently with the subsidiary Gima TT, also tobacco.
In 2018 Asia, including China, absorbed 25% of the group's turnover, against 16% in the US and 30% in the EU. Yet Asian markets are expected to register the highest growth rates – China in particular when it comes to the e-mobility sector.
"Against the backdrop of future markets, IMA keeps growing and evolving. We are already top players in some important sectors – as for the pharmaceutical and the food ones, as well as for tobacco, including all innovations related to low-impact smoking. Today, it gains access to a new strategic segment, the E-mobility one," said Vacchi.
According to the businessman, E-mobility makes for today’s fastest-expanding markets in the worlds, characterized by an even higher long-term development potential. By 2030, production is expected to input 50 million electric and hybrid cars in the market – and since each electric vehicles is equipped with one to three engines, the market of industrial automation applied to E-mobility is expected to grow at record speed, in the medium as much as in the long term.
"In over 25 years of operations, ATOP managed to implement over 600 production lines everywhere in the world, where it builds its rotors and stators through innovative technologies. It is also known for being extremely reliable and thus dealing with the most important automotive companies on a global scale. Acquiring it represents our best chance at becoming top players in the context of such an historic challenge," added the CEO of IMA.
"ATOP is a global top player in E-mobility, one of the most innovative and fastest growing sectors of our markets, and managed to reach its position through its innovation capacity – developed in 30 years of activity in traditional sectors. Today it holds over 500 patents and boasts a fantastic investment plan in R&D, as well as an expansion one for its industrial and production bases, in accordance with the excellent work its founders have been doing this far," explained Matteo Montezemolo, son of former President of Ferrari, and CEO of Fondi Charme.
Amedeo Felisa, former CEO of Ferrari, played a relevant role in the operation as well. In 2017 Charme asked him to lead ATOP and, bringing its 40 years of experience to the table, Felisa managed to add value to the already extraordinary foundations laid by the founders.
ATOP is worth a total of 380 million euro, calculated based on a x15 multiple of the 2018 EBITDA. Thus, IMA’s disbursement should total to 230 million euro, prediction confirmed by the analysts.
(Source:Class Editori)
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