Investcorp buys protective clothing maker Dainese for $163 mln
DUBAI, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Investcorp has acquired Italian protective clothing maker Dainese for 130 million euros ($163 million), the alternative investment firm said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Bahrain-based investor has bought the company from founder Lino Dainese, who will keep a minority stake in the business he set up in 1972. The founder will continue to work with the company, as would the current management team, the statement said.
The price tag, known as the enterprise value, includes Dainese's debt but excludes cash held by the company.
Dainese makes clothing and helmets for motor cyclists, as well as for winter sports and horse riding.
In 2013, Dainese generated revenue of 117 million euros and core profit (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of 11 million euros, a source familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Investcorp was competing with two other bidders, L Capital and Searchlight, according to reports earlier this week in the Italian press.
It is Investcorp's second acquisition in the past week. On Oct. 30, it said it had bought United States-based software and services firm PRO Unlimited with Bahraini sovereign fund Mumtalakat for around $300 million.
Investcorp's president of Gulf business, Mohammed al-Shroogi, told Reuters in an interview last month the company was working on closing three transactions, one each in the U.S., Europe and Turkey.
Mediobanca advised Investcorp on the Dainese acquisition and also arranged the financial package which supported the deal, the source said. (1 US dollar = 0.7990 euro) (Reporting by David French; Additional Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London; Editing by Susan Thomas and Jane Merriman)
