A private investor club deal organized by Deal Source Italia has finalized the acquisition of 100% of Stalam SpA's share capital in partnership with the company's management from the IdeA Efficienza Energetica and Sustainable Development fund managed by DeA Capital Alternative Funds Sgr.

Established in Vicenza in 1978, Stalam is a world leader in the development, design and manufacture of radio frequency (Rf) equipment for the drying and heat treatment of raw materials, semi-finished and finished industrial products. Over the years the company has diversified the application sectors of its machinery by expanding the range for the textile and textile-technical sector (dryers for fibres, glass fibres, yarns, fabrics, latex foams, felts, etc.), for the food sector, where radiofrequency technology is used for the rapid defrosting of meat, fish and fruit and vegetables, for the pasteurization of liquid and solid products, both in line and after packaging, for the disinfestation and sanitization of dried fruit , grains, cereals etc. and for controlling the final humidity level of bakery products after cooking in traditional ovens. Furthermore, thanks to the continuous research and development activity, Stalam has also grown in the pharmaco-cosmetic and nutraceutical sector (e.g. sanitation of medicinal herbs, denaturation of animal feed).

Stalam operates through 4 plants between Italy and China, employs 120 people and has a network of over 70 agents and distributors and 19 assistance centers worldwide. In 2022, the Stalam group achieved a consolidated turnover of around 23 million euros. Stalam was acquired by Dea Capital Alternative Funds in 2016 through a management buyout operation and was the last stake in the portfolio of the IdeA Efficienza Energetica e Sviluppo Sostenibile fund. Deal Source Italia will support Stalam in a further phase of expansion, supporting it in organizational development and growth activities also for external lines.

“We are very happy with the growth path undertaken together with Stalam since 2016 and with having contributed to consolidating world leadership and sector diversification while maintaining a strong focus on technological innovation”, say Giuliano Palazzo and Andrea Valenti , respectively Managing Director and Investment Director of DeA Capital Alternative Funds.

For his part Sergio Buonanno, co-founder of Deal Source Italia and new President of Stalam with responsibility for development: "We have known and appreciated the company and its management for some time. Despite the excellent path already made with DeA Capital, we are convinced that there is still ample room for growth and diversification to be seized in order to create value for our investors, some of whom will join us in defining the strategic development of the group”.

Daniela Ingrosso, co-founder of Deal Source and former director of Stalam for some years, stated: “We plan to replicate with Stalam the same virtuous approach that Deal Source has already experimented with Pietribiasi, made up of clarity of objectives, managerial discipline, alignment of interests and assiduous comparison and dialogue with the management for a constant improvement of the company results”.

“I am delighted to embark on this new entrepreneurial adventure being able to count on a competent and cohesive management team, as well as on investors with clear and perfectly aligned objectives on the development potential that our company and our technology are able to best express and on Unicredit , which has proved to be an absolutely reliable and flexible partner”, comments Enrico Zanetti, managing director and shareholder of Stalam, who will continue to lead the company while also remaining a shareholder.

DeA Capital and the other Stalam shareholders received the assistance of Fineurop Soditic as exclusive financial advisor, of the Ashurst law firm and of Pwc for the accounting part. Deal Source Italia is an advisory company created by Sergio Buonanno and Daniela Ingrosso, focused on buy-out operations of industrial SMEs in the form of club deals and supported by a stable group of investors including Banca Ifis. Deal Source Italia was assisted by DWF (legal due diligence), by Pavia & Ansaldo (legal assistance and tax due diligence), by Spada Partners (financial due diligence) and by Erm (ESG due diligence). The operation was supported by UniCredit, which intervened with an 11 million euro financing line which, together with the capital contributed by the club deal and by Stalam's managers, made it possible to complete the acquisition. UniCredit made use of the Orrick law firm for the preparation of the financial documentation.