Charme Capital Partners SGR S.p.A. and the shareholders of Tema Sinergie S.p.A. announce the establishment of an entrepreneurial partnership for the investment of Charme IV in Tema Sinergie, global leader in the highly-specialized sectors of isolators for nuclear medicine and the production of biotech pharmaceuticals. Charme IV will partner with the current shareholders in the relevant growth path envisaged for Tema Sinergie over the next years.

Founded in 1985 in Faenza by Luciano Piancastelli, Amedeo Laghi and Aurelio Romualdi and currently led by the CEO Stefano Piancastelli and the shareholder Andrea Peroni, the company has continuously grown over the years in Italy and mainly internationally, thanks to the development of a unique offer characterized by a significant and distinctive proprietary technological content.

Tema Sinergie, through a team of 200 highly skilled resources, that include 60 engineers, physicists and informatics, on average less than 40-year old, internally develops and manufactures isolators and filling and inspection systems (with relevant proprietary software) used by the most relevant radiopharma and biotech pharma companies in the world for the production of some of the most advanced pharmaceuticals for theragnostic, and for gene and cell therapy of personalized medicine. Tema Sinergie is also partner of top-tier hospitals through the integration of the products of global leading oncological radiotherapy companies, beside developing and selling worldwide systems for the administration of radiopharmaceuticals.

The partnership agreement envisages the entry of Charme Capital Partners SGR S.p.A. (a pan-European private equity firm with a strong entrepreneurial culture, with offices and teams in Milan, London and Madrid) in Tema Sinergie with a majority stake and in total continuation with the project of the founders and the current managers. The investment is carried out through Charme IV fund (€800m under management), with the specific goal to support Tema Sinergie and its management in their growth strategy, that is driven by a substantial international expansion, a significant innovation and product development and also by a further expansion in theragnostic and biotech segments.

Stefano Piancastelli will continue to hold the role of CEO ensuring, together with the current management team, full entrepreneurial and management continuity.

Closing is expected within the end of the year and is subject to the standard conditions for this type of transaction.

Matteo di Montezemolo, CEO of the Charme Funds, commented: "It is with great pleasure that we announce today the fifth investment by Charme IV, and the second in Italy after Bianalisi in 2021, in an Italian excellence such as Tema Sinergie in partnership with its founders and managers, confirming, once again, the strong entrepreneurial culture of the Charme Funds. Tema Sinergie represents a new and great investment opportunity for the Charme IV fund in a global leader in its sector, which operates with its highly-tech product offering perfectly consistent with the Charme Funds investment strategy. We strongly appreciated Tema Sinergie's growth path, inspired by the vision of its founders and its CEO Stefano Piancastelli and, consistently with all the previous investments of the Charme Funds, we will bring our active contribution, built on 20 years of entrepreneurial investment activity at global level and in diversified sectors. More specifically the most recent investments made by Charme in the healthcare and med-tech sectors, among which Bellco in Italy through Charme II, Igenomix in Spain through Charme III and Bianalisi in Italy through Charme IV, allowed the Charme Funds to develop a relevant operational experience in these fields, that Charme will share with Tema Sinergie. These are the distinctive elements that have always characterized the investment strategy of the Charme Funds and which represent the basis of the strategic and operational support that we will give to the current shareholders and to Tema Sinergie to implement the ambitious development plan that we have shared".

Tommaso Beolchini, Founding Partner of Charme, commented: "Charme IV's investment in Tema Sinergie is totally consistent with Charme Funds strategy of investing, in partnership with their respective founders and managers, in excellent entrepreneurial companies with strong growth potential. The leadership and vision of the founders and of Stefano Piancastelli are, in total continuity, the pillars of the significant growth envisaged in the strategic plan of Tema Sinergie".

Luciano and Stefano Piancastelli, respectively Chairman and CEO of Tema Sinergie, commented: "The partnership established with Charme represents a new relevant page in the history of Tema Sinergie and is the beginning of a new chapter which, in continuity, will lead the company to grow and further strengthen its positioning to catch the significant business development opportunities in the theragnostic and biotech sectors. We appreciated the strong business culture of Charme that, since its foundation, supported the growth of important Italian companies, the deep respect for the history and entrepreneurial values of Tema Sinergie and also its consolidated network, fundamental factors that have inspired our partnership. In light of this solid elements, we are convinced that Charme represents the ideal partner for the next phase of development of Tema Sinergie”.

Tema Sinergie was assisted by Mediobanca as financial advisor, by Pedersoli as legal advisor, and by Alvarez & Marsal for the financial and tax vendor due diligence. Charme was assisted by McKinsey for the market and business due diligence, by EY for the accounting and financial, HR and ESG due diligence, by Bonelli Erede as legal advisor, by AON for the insurance due diligence, by Spada Partners for the tax due diligence and by Modiano & Partnes for the IP due diligence, in addition to Leopoldo Zambeletti as advisor. Natixis, Banco BPM, BNL and Credit Agricole, assisted by Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici, have been active in the financing of the acquisition.

The Charme Funds

The Charme Funds, established in 2003 and managed by Charme Capital Partners SGR S.p.A., execute long-term industrial investments in companies with a strong potential for growth and international development and are characterized by a unique combination of institutional and entrepreneurial investors with a strong industrial approach.

Total cumulative commitments raised since inception and set-up of Charme I have been in excess of €2 billion through the fundraising and management of four funds.

The main investments realized by the funds Charme I and II include, in luxury goods, Poltrona Frau Group acquired in 2003 and transformed, under Charme’s ownership and management, into the world leader in high-end design furniture also through the acquisitions of Cassina and Cappellini and the subsequent IPO on the Milan stock exchange in 2006. In technology, Octo Telematics which went from being a single-product and single-client start-up to being the world leader in insurance telematics present in more than 20 countries with a diversified client base that includes the leading insurance companies of each country. In med-tech, Bellco which became a leading player in the design and production of blood purification devices.

Charme III, with total commitments of €650 million, was launched in 2016 with a pan-European investment focus simultaneously with the opening of offices in London, for the UK market, and in Madrid for the Spanish market, to join the Milan office. Charme III executed 9 majority investment in Italy, UK and Spain, in companies with high potential for growth and international expansion whose value ranges between €100 million and €500 million. In these companies, Charme III acted as a strategic partner for those entrepreneurial families and managerial teams who intended to benefit from both targeted investments for organic growth and structured investments in M&A, in addition to capital structure strengthening aimed at consolidating their leadership.

Specifically, in Italy in ATOP (one of the leading companies worldwide in the field of industrial automation for the production of electric motors in the automotive and e-mobility sector), Fiocchi (one of the leading companies worldwide in the outdoor shooting sports) and OCS (a leading company in the fintech software sector), in Spain in Igenomix (world leader in reproductive genetic diagnostics) and in the United Kingdom in Witherslack (UK market leader in the education sector for students with special educational needs, where the UK is historically one of the world leaders for know-how and specialized expertise).

Charme IV is currently completing its fundraising, with €800m of commitments already raised and with expected final closing within the first quarter of 2023. Charme IV has already executed 4 majority investments. In Italy, Bianalisi, the leading platform in laboratory diagnostics and outpatient clinics. In Spain, Indiba, a leading company in the design and manufacturing of innovative radio and laser-therapy devices for the physiotherapy (including Tecar therapy), aesthetic and veterinary sectors. In UK, Witherslack (UK market leader in the education sector for students with special educational needs), where Charme IV re-invested in partnership with Mubadala, UAE sovereign fund with assets under management in excess of €300 billion, with the specific objective of supporting the company in its next phase of relevant growth not only on the UK market, but also internationally; and Prism Healthcare, leading company in the silvery economy sector, active in the production of medical devices designed to assist people both at home and in long-stay clinics.

Tema Sinergie is the fifth investment by Charme IV.