Aksìa Capital V has announced the creation of the Italian food excellence Group. After completing the acquisition of Masters in 2021, Ifex today completed three new acquisitions: Buona Compagnia gourmet, Il Ceppo and Michelis. In this way it has created the main Italian pole in the production of fresh pasta, gnocchi and high quality ready meals. 

Master specializes in the production and marketing of high-end gnocchi (classic, stuffed, flavored), produced directly from the processing of fresh potatoes, and other regional specialties such as spatzle. With the acquisition from the Gradiente and Siparex funds of Buona Compagnia Gourmet, Master's main competitor and known for the Patamore brand, the Ifex group starts the process of aggregation of the sector, obtaining a unique strategic positioning in the market of gnocchi produced directly from the processing of fresh potatoes cooked by steam and not from the commonly used potato starch. 

Master and Buona Compagnia Gourmet are flanked by Michelis, Italian excellence in the production of fresh smooth, drawn and stuffed pasta, and Il Ceppo, a historic gastronomy in the center of Vicenza that has developed over the years a structured laboratory in which gastronomic lines dedicated exclusively to high quality wholesale.

The transaction also strengthens its presence in the strategic market in the United States, where the Group currently generates more than 15 million euros in turnover. At a consolidated level, Ifex today has a turnover of about 100 million Euros, with an expected growth of more than 10% for 2022: it has 7 production plants, one of which in the United States for a total of 350 employees, a strong international presence in more than 25 countries and an export share equal to 30% of the total turnover. 

"We are pleased to have achieved in just eight months the growth strategy announced with the acquisition of Master, creating a leading pole on the market for quality gnocchi, fresh pasta and ready meals, with a unique international positioning, thanks to the notoriety of its brands - explains Marco Rayneri, managing partner of Aksìa Group-. Now is the time to continue in the development and consolidation phase of leadership abroad, perfecting commercial and production synergies, continuing to invest in product innovation". 

The transactions were completed a few months after Aksìa Capital V joined the Master, which initiated a buy and build strategy aimed at creating a leading international group. An expansion that, the company communicates, takes place "through the identification of target companies capable of generating commercial and production synergies, and favoring expansion into foreign markets". 

"The integration project is based on a shared governance in the logic of continuity on the investee companies, through the creation of a first managerial line that will support a strategic industrial plan with a focus on the development of the internal market, together with a business plan that provides for growth exponential on foreign markets”, concludes Stefano Meloni, CEO of the Ifex Group.