Charme Capital Partners, Giuliano Caslini and Columna Capital announce the establishment of an entrepreneurial partnership in Bianalisi

Charme Capital Partners SGR and Giuliano Caslini announce the establishment of an entrepreneurial partnership for the investment of Charme IV in Bianalisi, the leading provider of laboratory diagnostic services in Italy, together with the reinvestment by the current minority shareholder Columna Capital.

Bianalisi is one of the leading companies in the sector of laboratory diagnostics, outpatient services and diagnostic imaging in Italy. Founded in 1968 and based in Carate Brianza, the company was acquired in 2000 by the entrepreneur Giuliano Caslini who, over the last twenty years, has led a significant expansion plan in Italy, mainly through acquisitions, aimed at positioning Bianalisi among the leading players of the healthcare sector in Italy. In 2016, Columna Capital Fund I made its first investment in Bianalisi to support the founder’s sector consolidation strategy.

With more than 260 laboratories and over 50 outpatient clinics, Bianalisi receives almost 13,000 patients every day to its facilities spread across 9 Italian regions. More than 50,000 laboratory tests and over 2,000 specialist medical examinations are carried out daily by over 600 doctors in Bianalisi’s centres. In 2020 Bianalisi carried out over 16 million laboratory tests. Bianalisi also offers advanced diagnostic imaging services using the latest generation scanning equipment (CT and MRI). Its widespread presence in its regions, combined with a high quality and broad service offering, make Bianalisi a point of reference for its patients.

The partnership agreement envisages the entry of Charme Capital Partners SGR S.p.A. (pan-European private equity firm with a highly entrepreneurial matrix with offices in Milan, London and Madrid), through the newly established Charme IV fund, in the Bianalisi shareholding structure with a significant stake and in total continuation with the project led by the founder Giuliano Caslini. The growth strategy for the next few years will be based on the further delivery of the consolidation plan in Italy, together with the additional expansion of the services currently offered (also through the adoption of cutting-edge solutions in preventive genetic diagnostics and telemedicine) and further growth in corporate, outsourcing and insurance services.

Giuliano Caslini will continue to hold the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ensuring full entrepreneurial and management continuity. Charme will contribute to Bianalisi's development plan thanks to its consolidated experience in supporting the growth of exceptional companies in partnership with their respective founders. The recent acquisitions of Igenomix and Veritas, which have respectively become world leaders in reproductive genetic diagnostics and genome sequencing thanks to the industrial plans set up and supported by Charme, allowed the development of an important track record and know how in the healthcare sector that Charme will make available to Bianalisi. Columna Capital (a private equity investor with offices in the London, Luxembourg and Lugano), will join Giuliano Caslini and Charme with a minority re-investment. Closing is expected by the end of August and is subject to standard conditions for transactions of this nature.

Matteo di Montezemolo, CEO of the Charme Funds, commented: "It is with great pleasure that we announce today the establishment of Charme IV with the first investment in Italy in an Italian excellence such as Bianalisi in partnership with its founder, Giuliano Caslini confirming, once again, the strong entrepreneurial culture of the Charme Funds. Bianalisi represents a great investment opportunity for the new Charme IV fund in a leading company in its sector, which operates with an effective platform for the consolidation of the analysis and diagnostics laboratories market in Italy. We strongly appreciated Bianalisi's growth path, inspired by Giuliano Caslini's vision and, consistently with all the previous investments of the Charme Funds, we will also bring our active contribution to Bianalisi to continue on this path in the coming years. These are the distinctive elements that have always characterized the investment strategy of the Charme Funds and which are the basis of the strategic and operational support that we will give to Giuliano Caslini and Bianalisi to implement the ambitious development plan that we have shared".

Giuliano Caslini commented: "The partnership established with Charme represents a new relevant page in Bianalisi’s history and is the beginning of a new chapter which, in continuity, will lead the Bianalisi platform to grow and further strengthen to catch the significant opportunities for business development in the laboratory and diagnostics sector. I appreciated the strong business culture of Charme demonstrated in more than 15 years of activity by supporting the growth of important Italian companies, the deep respect for the history and entrepreneurial values of Bianalisi and also its consolidated network, fundamental factors that have inspired our partnership. Charme represents in fact the ideal partner to better face the next phase of development and the consolidation of the market foreseen for the next few years, at the base of Bianalisi's future success”.

Tommaso Beolchini, Founding Partner of Charme, commented: "Charme IV's investment in Bianalisi is totally consistent with the Charme Funds strategy of investing, in partnership with their respective founders, in excellent entrepreneurial companies with strong growth potential. The leadership and vision of Giuliano Caslini in Bianalisi are, in total continuity, the pillars of the significant organic and M&A growth envisaged in Bianalisi's new strategic plan".

Andrea Frecchiami, Partner of Columna Capital, commented: “We are extremely pleased to continue the partnership with Giuliano Caslini that began in 2016. We are glad to welcome a blue-chip investor like Charme, who will make a significant contribution to the success of the sector consolidation strategy. We strongly believe in Bianalisi and are convinced that this new partnership will deliver strong results, and for this reason Columna Capital is delighted to make a significant reinvestment".

Giuliano Caslini and Columna Capital were assisted by Rothschild & Co as financial advisor, by Orrick and LMS as legal advisor, and by PwC for market and business, accounting and financial vendor due diligence and tax aspects. Charme was assisted by Legance as legal advisor, by McKinsey for market and business due diligence, by EY for accounting and financial tax, HR and ESG due diligence, by Willis for insurance due diligence, by McDermott Will & Emery for regulatory aspects. Natixis, assisted by Ashurst, handled the financing of the acquisition as sole financing bank, while Charme availed of the EY debt advisory and Legance for the contractual aspects.