Gruppo Cordenons acquired by private equity firm

Italian paper mill Gruppo Cordenons has been acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity.

The Milan-headquartered company, which produces creative and technical papers and offers more than 2,500 products, said the closing of the transaction will take place following customary regulatory approvals, though no specific timeline was disclosed.

Gruppo Cordenons will continue to be managed as an independent company, which it said will guarantee business continuity and strengthen its market share.

“Bain Capital's goal to create a first-class global player in high-end speciality paper will allow Gruppo Cordenons to face, with even more determination, an increasingly global and competitive market while maintaining independence of the Cordenons brand,” said Gruppo Cordenons chairman Ferruccio Gilberti, who has headed up the business since 1984.

Gruppo Cordenons sales manager Matteo Suardi added: “Our team is ready to face this new challenge. In recent years we have increased our turnover and we have also grown in terms of organisation and management.

“We have maintained our focus on the development of special papers with particular attention to the needs of our customers. I am convinced that Gruppo Cordenons will be able to make a strategic contribution to Bain Capital to create a leading company in the high-end graphic paper market.”

In April, Bain Capital completed its acquisition of Italian speciality papers and self-adhesive labels manufacturer Fedrigoni, after first announcing the deal in December 2017.

Gruppo Cordenons’ creative papers are distributed in 86 countries. Exports represent almost 70% of its turnover, which was valued at around €89m (£78.9m) in 2017. The company employs nearly 300 staff across two production plants in Northern Italy and has an annual production of about 40,000 tonnes.