SAN VENDEMIANO, Italy (BRAIN) — Cytech, which dominates the OE cycling padding market with its Elastic Interface brand, has acquired Pasasport S.r.l., an OE glove maker.
Elastic Interface entered the glove-padding market several years ago with its EIT palm padding technology, which is used by several glove makers, including Giro.
Cytech was acquired by the private equity firm PM & Partners last year. The company said the acquisition of Pasasport was "the first milestone" in a growth plan developed after the acquisition.
Pasasport S.r.l., was founded by the Pasato family in 1973. Based in Villa Bartolomea in the province of Verona, Pasasport specializes in the design and manufacture of clothing accessories (primarily gloves and shoecovers) for third parties. In sports, it has manufactured gloves for fencing, F1 driving, cycling, skiing and equestrians. It has three production plants, in Italy, Tunisia and Romania.
Massimo Fregonese, Cytech's CEO, said, "I am very pleased that Pasasport has joined the Cytech - Elastic Interface Group because, in addition to the added value created by this acquisition, our two companies share a cultural and business affinity. When we met Federica Pasato and Alberto Santinello, we immediately felt positive about the strategic vision and the opportunity to integrate the two companies. The acquisition of Pasasport strengthens and highlights the value of our market leadership; it enables us to offer our clients a wider range of services and products with greater added value. The business model, commercial and product development synergies, and complementary technological know-how all allow us to accelerate the expansion of Elastic Interface into new markets and diversify our product offering in the cycling sector and across other sports and to strengthen our international presence with production plants on key continents."
Corus Corporate Finance assisted Cytech and PM & Partners as financial advisor for the acquisition of a majority stake in Pasasport. A purchase price was not released.
