The Italian investment fund Mandarin Capital Partners-MCP, along with other major investors including Graziano Verdi at the helm of ItalCer, has announced the acquisition of La Fabbrica SpA, a high-end ceramic tile manufacturer based in the northern Italian town of Castel Bolognese.
Following the option to purchase Tagina announced by Graziano Verdi in the first few months of the year, this acquisition marks a further step forward in MCP and ItalCer’s project to establish an Italian ceramic hub with the aim of “developing the markets that are most sensitive to the style and quality of Italian ceramics”.
Graziano Verdi also announced that construction will soon commence on a 4.0 factory in Tennessee, USA, with start-up planned by the end of 2018. “We want to develop a project in the high end of the market that will enable us to achieve good results abroad and strong growth,” commented Verdi. While his goal is to “reach a turnover of 300 million euros within five years”, this figure may in fact be much higher depending on the external growth opportunities that arise.
Commenting on the acquisition of La Fabbrica, Verdi said: “La Fabbrica already produces high-end products in its facilities, whereas large-size panels are produced under licence by one of the top manufacturers in the segment, as is the case in the world of fashion.” He continued: “The brand is a world leader and in recent years has seen above-average growth rates in a sector that itself is growing much more rapidly than Italian and European industry as a whole.”
