Charme Capital Partners SGR, Antonino Santalucia and Giorgio Romani announce the establishment of an entrepreneurial partnership for the investment of Charme IV in Animalia, the leading provider of veterinary care services in Italy, through a capital increase alongside the current shareholders of Animalia.

Animalia was founded in 2019 by Antonino Santalucia and Giorgio Romani, through the opening of the first clinic in Lissone (Milan). Since the foundation of Animalia, the founders have led a significant expansion plan, both through acquisitions and organic growth, aimed at integrating excellent veterinary clinics into a single group, significantly expanding the services offered and positioning Animalia as the leading platform in the veterinary sector in Italy.

With more than 75 clinics spread across 13 Italian regions, Animalia has built a leading network covering all areas of veterinary services, with a specific focus on excellent veterinary clinics with advanced medical services and second-opinion services (including advanced surgery, hospitalization, 24/7 emergency care, and advanced diagnostic imaging such as CT and MRI scans). Animalia’s success leverages on the partnership with over 1,000 highly qualified veterinaries, who are among the most experienced in Europe. The widespread presence in the regions where it operates, combined with the high quality of the services offered that meet the highest industry standards and the outstanding level of its veterinaries, make Animalia a point of reference for its patients.

The agreement envisages the entry of Charme Capital Partners SGR S.p.A. (pan-European private equity firm with a strong entrepreneurial approach, with offices in Milan, London and Madrid), through the Charme IV fund that it manages, into Animalia’s shareholding with a 56% stake and under a full managerial and entrepreneurial continuity with the project of the founders Antonino Santalucia and Giorgio Romani, who will retain their roles of co-CEOs and shareholders. The investment will be performed through a capital increase that will provide Animalia with the necessary resources to continue and accelerate its consolidation and organic growth plan. Such goals will be achieved through the continuation of its strategy based on targeted add-ons combined with the further expansion of the services of the network’s clinics, also through the adoption of cutting-edge solutions. In parallel, Animalia will continue to invest, as it has done so far, in high-level training for its veterinaries, further strengthening its internal training program.

Antonino Santalucia and Giorgio Romani will continue to hold their roles of co-CEOs and shareholders of the Group, ensuring full continuity both under a managerial and entrepreneurial standpoint. Charme will contribute to Animalia’s growth plan thanks to its established track-record in supporting the growth of excellent companies in partnership with their respective founders. The experience gained with the investment in Bianalisi, the leading independent Italian platform in the sector of laboratory diagnostics, outpatient care and diagnostic imaging, which has further expanded its platform in recent years through the continued consolidation of the sector and the introduction of cutting-edge solutions in preventive genetic diagnostics and digital health promoted and supported by Charme, has allowed to develop a significant experience and know-how in the healthcare sector and for consolidation strategies that Charme will make available to Animalia.

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Matteo di Montezemolo, CEO of Charme Funds, commented: “We are pleased to announce today the eighth investment of Charme IV (€850 million fund launched in 2021), the third in Italy after Bianalisi in 2021 and Tema Sinergie in 2022, in an Italian excellence like Animalia and in partnership with its founders, Antonino Santalucia and Giorgio Romani. Once again confirming the strong entrepreneurial culture of the Charme Funds, Animalia represents, for Charme IV, the opportunity to support the market-leading company, which operates through a highly specialized platform for the consolidation of the veterinary clinics sector in Italy, being an extremely interesting market with high growth potential and still to be consolidated in Italy as opposed to other European countries. We greatly appreciated Animalia’s growth path inspired by the vision and specific know-how of its founders and, consistently with all previous Charme Funds’ investments, we will bring to Animalia our active contribution built through more than 20 years of entrepreneurial investments on a global scale and in diversified sectors. Specifically, the most recent investments by Charme in the healthcare and medtech industry, including for Charme III Igenomix in Spain and for Charme IV Bianalisi, Tema Sinergie in Italy and Indiba in Spain, have allowed the Charme Funds to develop a significant operational experience in such fields, which we will make available to Animalia. These are the distinctive elements that have always characterized the Charme Funds’ investment strategy and are the pillars of the strategic and operational support that we have established, together with its founders, in Animalia to realize its ambitious growth plan.”

Tommaso Beolchini, founding partner of Charme, commented: “The investment of Charme IV in Animalia is fully consistent with the Charme Funds’ strategy to invest, in partnership with the respective founders and managers, in excellent entrepreneurial companies with strong growth potential. The leadership and vision of the founders Antonino Santalucia and Giorgio Romani are, in full continuity, the pillars of the significant growth projected in Animalia’s strategic plan.”

Antonino Santalucia and Giorgio Romani, founders and co-CEOs of Animalia, commented: “The partnership with Charme represents a new chapter in Animalia’s history that will continue to drive the company to grow and to further strengthen in order to best seize the new, significant opportunities for an entrepreneurial growth in the sector of veterinary clinics. We appreciated the strong entrepreneurial culture of Charme, which has supported since its foundation the growth of important Italian companies, the Italian heritage of the fund, which will allow us to maintain our flexibility in managing a diversified network spread across the national territory, and finally Charme’s profound respect for the history, people, and entrepreneurial values of Animalia, being the fundamental pillars that inspired our partnership. It is for these tangible factors that we are convinced Charme represents the ideal partner to best tackle Animalia’s next phase of growth.”