CP Advisors acted as the exclusive financial advisor of Scarabelli Irrigazione, a portfolio company of Aksia, in the acquisition of the Italian companies FGR and Europlast and in the acquisition of Samcla ESIC SL in Spain, players active in the production of irrigation products and automated irrigation solutions

Just 10 months after the business combination between Scarabelli Irrigazione and Gruppo Giunti, originated by CP Advisors and carried out by the private equity fund Aksia Capital V, managed by Aksia Capital SGR S.p.A., Scarabelli Irrigazione completes the first three acquisitions of its industrial project, taking over the Italian companies FGR and Europlast, active in the design and construction of moulds, plastic materials and in the extrusion of drip lines, hoses and pipes for precision irrigation, and the Spanish company Samcla ESIC SL, an innovative player that produces monitoring systems, remote control and automation for irrigation systems.

Scarabelli Irrigazione, founded 45 years ago in Bologna, is a leading company in the design and marketing of precision irrigation products in the agricultural, ornamental and sports sectors, particularly in golf, soccer and tennis fields. The company is highly specialized in the construction of irrigation systems for agriculture, ornamentals, sports, filtration stations, pumping stations, fertigation stations, ornamental fountains, misting and cooling systems, outdoor fire-fighting systems, electrical systems and lighting for green areas.

The acquisitions of Europlast and FGR are part of the development plan designed to internalize the production of critical and strategic components, such as drippers and driplines within the Scarabelli Group. The strong strategic value derives from having full control of the production chain, from the design of the molds to the production of a unique and exclusive products. The commercial synergies aimed at internalizing the production of own-brand driplines in the Monopoli plant are evident and immediate. The Monopoli plant received a massive investment by Scarabelli simultaneously with the completion of the transaction. In particular, by the end of 2023 the production will be transferred into the new industrial area of over 5,000 square meters, in which the new production lines capable of tripling the current production capacity will be installed.

The integration of Samcla instead aims to directly control the engineering and production of monitoring and remote control systems for the irrigation industry. Samcla has the most sophisticated technologies for radio frequency control and will benefit by the expansion of the new production facility in Matarò (Barcelona) and by the introduction of a new product range with Bluetooth technology over the next few months. The uniqueness of the proprietary technology also allows applications in the field of digitization of waste management and scheduled maintenance of green areas.

As far as international expansion is concerned, in addition to the Spanish market, a commercial branch of the group has been activated in Chile, the first step in the development of Central and South America, while the French commercial team will enjoy important additions during the season with a focus on precision products.

Gian Carlo Scarabelli and Fausto Scarabelli, managing directors of Scarabelli commented as follows: "our group is strengthening on two verticals that we had identified as priorities and critical". “With Europlast and FGR, we have the direct control and flexibility necessary to develop the largest references in terms of volumes that we manage in our portfolio. We can supply unique products to our customers and the investment to expand the plant projects us into the next season with a considerable production capacity” completes Gian Carlo Scarabelli. “I imagine many collaborations and synergies. We know the Samcla product well as we have been the exclusive distributors for Italy for years, but the possibility of having brought all this know-how into the house puts us on an avant-garde level. In the ornamental field, we can present ourselves on the market as absolute market leaders; we will go in search of complex and sophisticated projects that are well suited to our skills” completes Fausto Scarabelli.

Also from the words of Marco Rayneri, Managing Partner of Aksìa Group is evident a certain satisfaction for the success of the transactions and the development of the Group, “We have already completed four add-ons on the platform in less than a year. A clear strategy, dynamic management team, a rapidly expanding market are the basis of the excellent results we are achieving. The project is bringing innovation and dynamism to the sector and several entrepreneurs have contacted us to join the platform. We are therefore very attentive to market dynamics and we expect that the Group will be able to reach the 100 million euro turnover threshold in a short time: we have some interesting aggregation opportunities in which we are working, over 20 million euro of active orders and a booming revenue curve”.

Commenting on the transactions, Salvo Mazzotta, Managing Partner of CP Advisors added. “We are very honored to have assisted Scarabelli Irrigazione, Aksia and the top management of the business in their growth strategy and in accelerating the consolidation project by creating a leading European irrigation group. We are pleased and committed to continue supporting the acquisition path of the Scarabelli Group”.