H.I.G. Capital, a global alternative investment firm has acquired a majority stake in an operator in the Italian market for the distribution of fasteners, Berardi Bullonerie S.r.l. The investment is intended to accelerate Berardi’s development and growth strategy.
Berardi partners with a variety of Italian industrial companies as a supplier of standard and custom fasteners, and, more recently, for the design and implementation of integrated logistics programs using the kanban system. It has 14 warehouses throughout the country and commercial offices in Italy, Croatia and Morocco.
Raffaele Legnani, managing director and head of the H.I.G.’s office in Italy said, “Berardi has a position of undisputed leadership in Italy, proven by a growth rate in the last ten years well above the market and by an impressive track-record as a partner of choice for top-notch industrial companies, thanks to its value-added service offering and a best-in-class management team. We are excited to support the management in the next phase of the Company’s development and we believe that we can provide an important boost to the growth, primarily by supporting an aggressive acquisition strategy, taking advantage of the high fragmentation of the market.”