MILAN (BRAIN) — Investment holding company Italmobiliare is acquiring the cycling and motorcycling footwear company Sidi Sport for 66 million euros ($66.8 million).
According to an Italmobiliare news release, all Sidi Sport capital will be acquired, in addition to the net cash held by the company on Aug. 31, 2022. The completion of the deal, subject to a corporate reorganization that includes the spin-off of certain properties, is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of this year.
Sidi Sport was founded by Dino Signori in 1960.
"I am proud of this deal, which respects my history as an entrepreneur over the last 60 years or more," said Signori, who is the company's chairman. "It will ensure that the company can grow even stronger and more competitive. Italmobiliare — and (CEO) Carlo Pesenti, whom I have come to know and respect — will be able to give continuity to the values and ideas that I have always pursued: consolidating and strengthening Sidi's traditions and products. I thank my family and all of our employees for their efforts that have allowed us to achieve such brilliant results."
For Sidi's U.S. distributor, Ciclista America, the acquisition is a good thing, Ciclista America-Motonation President Bill Berroth told BRAIN on Wednesday.
"Having recently signed a multi-year extension to our 22-plus year distribution agreement, the fresh changes that this group will be bringing to the Sidi will certainly reinvigorate and help grow the Sidi brand, both in the cycling and motorcycling sectors," Berroth said.
Italmobiliare has two main segments: industrial and services for industry, and financial and private equity. Business interests include production and marketing of fresh-food packaging and production and distribution of electric energy from renewable sources. It operates across Europe primarily through its subsidiaries.
Since 2017, it has consolidated its strategy of investing in companies with major innovative "Made in Italy" brands. It has a net asset value of more than 2 billion euro.
"With this new transaction, Italmobiliare is expanding its presence in the sports and outdoor market, in a sector that features high growth and further development potential," Pesenti said. "The decision to invest in Sidi is based on the value of a winning brand that is much appreciated, the company's production efficiency and its potential for future growth. For Italmobiliare, this new acquisition is a further step in our strategy of enhancing and strengthening successful Italian brands that are worth accompanying, also in terms of their global development."
