News Release
The Carlyle Group Acquires a Majority Shareholding in Comdata, a Leading Italian Group for Business Process Outsourcing Services
Investment will drive international expansion
London and Milan - Global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced it has agreed to acquire a majority participation in Comdata, the leading Italian company for outsourcing of contact center, help desk, back office, credit management and document management services.
The transaction is expected to complete in Q1 2016, subject to customary closing requirements and regulatory approvals. The equity for the transaction will come from Carlyle Europe Partners IV (CEP IV), a European-focused upper-mid market buyout fund. Comdata will be the ninth investment from Carlyle Europe Partners IV.
Established in 1987, Comdata’s experienced management team has led the business through a period of significant growth, notably consolidating its leadership in Italy and expanding its services across Romania, Turkey, Czech Republic and Argentina. In 2014, Comdata achieved revenues of €298m, up 7.2% since 2013.
Headquartered in Milan, Comdata operates a total of 27 hubs, with 14 based in Italy, five in Romania, four in Czech Republic, three in Turkey and one in Argentina, with more than 14,000 employees. Comdata’s leading clients operate in the telecoms, energy and utilities, financial services and media sectors.
Executive Chairman Enrico Saraval will remain as a minority shareholder and Comdata’s current CEO Massimo Canturi will continue in his leadership role.
Comdata Group’s Executive Chairman Enrico Saraval, said: “Thanks to the know-how and the financial strength of one of the most important Private Equity Funds in the world, Comdata aspires to become a relevant European player. We are confident that the agreement with Carlyle represents the beginning of a new growth path for our Group”.
Marco De Benedetti, Managing Director and Co-Head of Carlyle Europe Partners, added: “We are delighted to welcome Comdata to our European portfolio and begin our partnership with the experienced management team. Comdata’s strong business model offers further potential for international growth. Using Carlyle’s extensive international network, we hope to assist Mr Canturi and his team in accelerating their growth plan.”
The Carlyle Group was advised by Lazard and Latham & Watkins, while Orrick, Allen&Overy and Rothschild assisted the sellers of Comdata shares.
For more information:
The Carlyle Group:
Marina Riva- Federico Steiner, Barabino & Partners
Tel:+39 02.72.02.35.35
Email: m.riva@barabino.it: f.steiner@barabino.it
Rory Macmillan
Tel: +44 (0) 207 894 1630
Email: roderick.macmillan@carlyle.com
About The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $188 billion of assets under management across 126 funds and 160 fund of funds vehicles as of September 30, 2015. Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, many of whom are public pensions. Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Market Strategies and Investment Solutions – in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,700+ people in 35 offices across six continents.
Web: www.carlyle.com
Videos: http://www.carlyle.com/news-room/corporate-videos_new
Tweets: www.twitter.com/onecarlyle
Podcasts: www.carlyle.com/about-carlyle/market-commentary
About Carlyle Europe Partners
Carlyle Europe Partners (CEP) seeks to invest in mid-size companies in Europe across a wide range of sectors and industries, accelerate their growth and support their efforts to expand internationally. The current fund is now the fourth in the CEP franchise. The fund is managed by a team of 39 investment professionals across five offices. In total, over 140 investors from 35 countries have made commitments to the CEP IV fund.
About Comdata
With more than 14,000 employees and more than 100 customers served every year in 5 countries through a range of channels, Comdata group is the industrial partner of choice for BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) of Customer Operations for various industrial sectors. Comdata is the leading Italian company for the outsourcing of Contact Center, Help Desk, Back Office, Credit Management and Document Management services and offers project management and technical skills and competencies for the implementation of models and technologies to achieve lean operational excellence. Comdata is present throughout the national territory with 14 operating centres in Italy, and 13 offices in Romania, Turkey, Czech Republic and Argentina.