Tungsten Holding enters Lombardo’s capital with the aim of supporting the company in the process of development and consolidation in the lighting sector

Tungsten Holding S.r.l. (“Tungsten”) has acquired a majority stake in Lombardo, a leading manufacturer of residential lighting products with a primary focus on the outdoor segment.

Founded in Villongo (Bergamo) in 1968, Lombardo develops, manufactures and distributes residential lighting products in the outdoor segment. In particular, the company is considered one of the key players in the competitive arena in which it operates, with large specialised retailers being the main distribution channel for the products developed by the company. In 2021 Lombardo generated a turnover of approximately Euro 21 million, with strong growth compared to the 2020 results, reflecting the virtuous process of growth and development led by CEO Italo Belussi.

Tungsten believes that Lombardo represents an example of excellence on the global scene and that, thanks to the strong specialisation and know-how acquired over the years, it will be able in the future to strengthen its leadership position in the sector in which it operates. The aim of the transaction is to support the company’s development over the next few years and to create an investment platform to pursue an aggregation process in the lighting sector, which is still very fragmented. In particular, the company aims to broaden its product offering, entering adjacent and synergistic segments, and to internalise certain key production processes, including through targeted acquisitions.

The transaction takes the form of an MBO in which CEO Italo Belussi, together with the first line of the management team consisting of CFO Claudio Lussana, plant manager Davide Bresciani and board member Giovanni Maria Castelli, will re-invest. Paolo Manfredi, the company’s historic controlling shareholder, will re-invest with a minority stake together with Tungsten. The transaction has been financed by Crédit Agricole Italia as Mandated Lead Arranger and Sole Lender, assisted by Legance’s banking team led by partner Tommaso Bernasconi with senior associate Alessia Solofrano and associate Giulia Lauria. Tungsten, an investment vehicle owned by Cronos Capital Partners and other renowned co-investors, was assisted by lawyers Niccolò Piccone and Giulio Pezzi Guarnati of Alpeggiani e Associati, and Luca Zesi of Deloitte Financial Advisory, Francesco Saltarelli, Andrea Bravo and Carlo Rolandi of Deloitte Studio Tributario e Societario, Alessandro Rocca and Luca Mazzola of RMU Tax Lex, LTP OC&C with a team led by Chris Christodulopulos and finally Bilma for the environmental DD.

Cronos Capital Partners is an Italian investment holding company wholly owned by the founding partners Alessandro Besana and Lorenzo Bovo and by the partner Nicola Ambrosio, specialised in structuring private equity transactions as well as in the acquisition of majority stakes in co-investments with other leading investors.

Cronos Capital Partners operates with particular reference to industrial companies of excellence in the made-in-Italy sector with a turnover of between 10 and 50 million Euros.