Milano, January 27th, 2022 – Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR, by means of Fondo Italiano Tecnologia e Crescita (“FITEC”), has completed an investment operation of €9 million to acquire a minority stake in Apparound aimed at supporting the international growth of the company, as well as at increasing the functionality of the platform.
Apparound – founded in Pisa in 2008 by Gianluca Cagiano – is a leading software company in the segment of the CPQ (Configure, Price and Quote) applications for the digital management of enterprises’ sale processes, making relationships between end-customers and the sales much easier. Apparound’s software platform integrates with all major CRM solutions and has been adopted by a wide number of clients operating in different sectors, including Telecommunications, Utilities, Services, Manufacturing, Food & Beverage and Media. Apparound plays a key role among the national technology players, which led the company to be included for the fourth year in a row in the Magic Quadrant™ of Gartner® for CPQ applications.
“We are very proud of this acquisition. The resources of FITEC will allow us to expand in other markets, supporting foreign growth with national and international partnerships”, stated Gianluca Cagiano, CEO of Apparound.
Antonio Pace, CEO of Fondo Italiano d’Investimento said, “We firmly believe in the potential of Apparound, which, thanks to FITEC’s capital and the team’s expertise, will be able to further accelerate its growth in international markets.”
“The management team of Apparound has been able to develop a strategy and a world-class software product, competing, since the very beginning, with much larger international players in the industry and achieving an excellent market position” – added Claudio Catania, Senior Partner of FITEC.
With the investment in Apparound, FITEC Fund has now seven companies in its portfolio, together with BeMyEye, operating in the Marketing Technology sector; Everli, a company active in the E-grocery sector; Healthware, a company operating in Digital Health; Inxpect, a world leader in radar sensors for robotics and industrial safety applications; Seco, listed in Milan and a leading Italian industrial group in the electronics sector; Termo, a green tech company that operates in the sector of thermal system installation and management and building renovations.
Studio Pirola acted as advisor to FITEC; whilst GOP, Klecha & Co and Craia law firm assisted Apparound.
Contacts:
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento:
Roberto Del Giudice
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR
Tel. +39 02 63532.1
roberto.delgiudice@fondoitaliano.it
Lavinia Borea
LB Partners
Tel. +39 335 6583925
lavinia.borea@lbpartners.net
Apparound S.p.A.
External Relations and Communication
Tel. +39 050 775849
marketing@apparound.com
Apparound S.p.A.
Apparound was founded in 2008 in Pisa with the aim of improving the productivity of the sales force through an integrated solution for the digitalization of the sales process. The software, based on cloud technology, supports the seller during the entire process: from the presentation of marketing material in the form of digital content (brochures, videos, etc. …) to the configuration of the offer, from the generation of the contract to the closing of the negotiation with electronic signature. All in extreme simple way, with the sole use of a tablet, a smartphone or, alternatively, the web application.
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR
Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR (“Fondo Italiano” or “FII SGR”) was created in 2010 on the initiative of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and its shareholders include CDP Equity, Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, Abi and Confindustria. The main goal of Fondo Italiano is to favor the growth of the Italian economy by managing closed-ended funds. The funds managed by FII SGR are aimed at conveying patient capital to Italian companies of excellence with a return on investment in line with international benchmarks.
As of today, FII SGR manages a total of 13 closed-ended investment funds reserved to qualified investors, with Assets Under Management in excess of 3 billion euros and operates both through direct investments and fund of funds’ activity. FII SGR considers sustainability a fundamental value and is committed to integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into its investment activities.
FITEC, with a current size of 133 million euros, is the first Italian growth capital fund devoted to the acquisition of stakes in the capital of small and medium-sized Italian companies with high technological content, with a total revenue between 5 and 70 million and who want to extend their product range, undertake processes of growth and innovation, and strengthen their competitive and commercial capacity also internationally. The companies FITEC invests in can be either already financed by venture capital funds, such as Bemyeye, Everli (Supermarket24), Inexpect and Termo, or entirely entrepreneurial in nature, such as Apparound, Healthware and SECO. The Fund, managed by Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR, made its first closing in September 2017 and sees Cassa Depositi e Prestiti as its Cornerstone Investor.