BC Partners completes IMA Group acquisition

Investment firm BC Partners, alongside the Vacchi family, has completed the private acquisition of IMA Group, a manufacturer of automatic packaging machines.

As a result, IMA has been fully delisted from the Milan stock exchange, and BC Partners and the Vacchi family now control 100% of the business.

Headquartered in Bologna, Italy, IMA designs and manufactures machines for the processing and packaging of food, tea and coffee, as well as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The company employs around 6,200 people in 45 production plants across the world.

London-headquartered BC Partners claims that the acquisition is one of the largest take-private deals on a European stock exchange.

Stefano Ferraresi, partner at BC Partners, said: “We are thrilled to welcome IMA to the BC Partners portfolio and look forward to working with the Vacchi family and IMA’s management team to support its next stage of growth through strategic investments, adoption of new technologies and maximising opportunities for organic growth.”

Alberto Vacchi, chairman and CEO of IMA, added: “We welcome this new partnership with BC Partners, who share our vision for the future of our group. Their wealth of experience will be critical in helping us continue to evolve, building on the success we have already achieved to cement our position as a world leader in our sector.”