AGIC to buy Italian robotics manufacturer
China-Europe cross-border private equity firm AGIC Capital has acquired a large majority stake in Gimatic, an Italian robotics supplier planning an Asian expansion.
According to a statement, the total enterprise value of the transaction exceeds EUR100 million ($112.5 million). Existing investor Xenon Private Equity as well as Gimatic CEO and co-founder Giuspeppe Bellandi will also participate in the investment, taking substantial minority stakes.
The capital will be used to accelerate the company's internationalization ambitions with an emphasis on expanding operations in China. This effort is expected to leverage a 14% compound annual growth rate in the value of the country's industrial robotics market.
"[Gimatic's] significant growth potential is underpinned by a seismic shift in global manufacturing towards industrial automation and robotics, with the market set to more than double in size over the next five years," said Heiko von Dewitz, AGIC's Munich-based managing partner. "This is being fueled in large part by Asia's growth in industrial infrastructure developments, fast-growing economies, higher manual labor costs and an increased focus on driving efficiency gains."
Established in 1985, Gimatic develops and manufactures industrial automation and robotic applications for clients in sectors including the automotive, plastics, electronics, food and pharmaceuticals industries. It claims revenues have grown at a compound annual rate of more than 20% during the last three years, with almost 80% of this derived from European markets. Asia revenue during this period represented less than 10% of total sales.
The acquisition of Gimatic is AGIC's first solo investment and its second in a European advanced technology company, after participating in the EUR925 million takeover of German machining company KraussMaffei earlier this year. The firm says it has already secured commitments from a number of Asian and Chinese industrial automation and robotics companies regarding Gimatic collaborations in Asian markets.
AGIC launched its debut fund in March last year and reached a first close of $550 million in August. A second close in the third quarter of 2016 is expected to bring the vehicle to its targeted raise of $1 billion.
The global industrial robotics market, which was valued at $36 billion in 2015, is forecast to benefit from compound annual growth of 12% between now and 2022. The International Federation of Robotics has identified Asia Pacific as the sector's largest market by far, with about 139,300 industrial robots sold in 2014, representing a 41% increase over the prior year.
More on Greater China
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.