• Further diversification and growth of the Fund’s private equity portfolio confirmed

Milan, December 19th, 2024 -EQUITA Smart Capital – ELTIF, a private equity fund managed by EQUITA Capital SGR (multi-asset manager of the EQUITA Group), further expands its centre of excellence active in the production of luxury women’s footwear for international fashion brands with a first and significant add-on.

The Fund – through the Holding EME – has completed the acquisition of GT Emme, company active in the production and commercialization of insoles and strips for women’s luxury footwear. Founded in 2001 by Graziano Marmugi and headquartered in Santa Maria a Monte (Pisa), GT Emme represents a key investment to guarantee the creation of an integrated and certified Made in Italy supply chain, serving international fashion brands.

The add-on is part of the ambitious industrial project announced by EQUITA Smart Capital – ELTIF, aimed at establishing an innovative group active in the contract shoe manufacturing sector. The project has already seen the integration of the production hubs Everyn and Maruska and the establishment of an upper maker company (InsiEME S.r.l.). The aim is to ensure excellence, traceability and sustainability in shoes craftmanship, leveraging off Italian suppliers selected for their quality, ethics and reliability[1].

GT Emme, which recorded revenues above €5 million in 2023 and boasts a team of 33 people, will still be managed by its founder Graziano Marmugi. He will also hold a stake in the share capital of the group, alongside the other entrepreneurs Massimo Pelagotti and Fabrizio Tempesti. EQUITA Smart Capital – ELTIF, as majority shareholder, will continue to invest in this industrial project by completing new add-ons – currently under evaluation – with the aim of fostering growth, further integrating the supply chain, and completing the manufacturing group in the first months of 2025.

As occurred with the acquisitions of Everyn and Maruska, the acquisition of GT Emme was partially financed by Anthilia Capital Partners and Green Arrow SGR, confirming the financial soundness of the initiative.

With this new investment, EQUITA Smart Capital – ELTIF further diversifies its private equity portfolio, which today boasts a combination of majority and minority investment in the share capital of excellent Italian small and medium enterprises, active in sectors that present interesting growth opportunities and structural trends such as women’s footwear handcrafting (Everyn – Maruska), molecular diagnostics (Clonit), radial valves for the pharma sector (Rattiinox), digitalization of companies and public administrations (Digital 360) and, more recently, senior living (Over).

In September 2024, the Fund co-invested in Over – an Italian company active in the long-term care and senior living sector – by participating to a capital increase (alongside the UK private equity Columna Capital, institutional investors and family offices) aimed at raising new funds to boost inorganic growth through M&A, thus supporting Mariuccia Rossini’s business initiative.

Rossano Rufini, Managing Partner and Head of Private Equity at EQUITA, commented: “The acquisition of GT Emme further consolidates our vision: creating an excellent Italian supply chain to serve international luxury brands, where quality, craftmanship and sustainability meet. Our commitment is to enhance Made in Italy by protecting the entrepreneurial and artisanal expertise that makes our offering unique”.

“Since 2022, EQUITA Smart Capital – ELTIF has actively invested in several small and medium enterprises, helping entrepreneurs to grow further, both organically and inorganically, also through buy & build projects. As a result, today our private equity investments represent an overall turnover above €300 million. The goal of our Fund is clear: foster Made in Italy, ease aggregation of mid-small companies and partner with entrepreneurs and management teams by contributing with our expertise and long-term capital”.