Campari Group announces that it has signed an agreement with all shareholders-including the leading ones (the CEO Mr. Marco Magnocavallo, Programma 101 SICAF S.p.A. and Boox S.r.l, jointly the ‘Sellers’)-to acquire a 49% interest in Tannico.
The transaction structure foresees that Campari Group acquires 39% of the share capital of Tannico and simultaneously subscribes to a reserved capital increase to reach, in aggregate, a 49% shareholding.
Founded in 2013, Tannico is the market leader in online sales of wines and premium spirits in Italy, with a market share of over 30%. With over 7 million unique visitors in the last 12 months, Tannico’s offering comprises 14,000 wines from over 2,500 domestic and international wineries. In addition to wines, the offering includes high- end spirits.
Leveraging an unconventional communication approach for the wine industry, an advanced technology applied to online sales and an innovative digital marketing strategy, Tannico has progressively expanded into B2B, offering professional operators with relevant value-added services in areas such as assortment and warehouse management as well as tailored delivery solutions.
In 2019, Tannico achieved net sales of €20.6 million (under local GAAP). Net sales CAGR for the past three years (2016-2019) was approximately 50% and such trend grew significantly in Q1 2020, also due to the COVID- 19 emergency, approximately reaching break-even from a profitability standpoint. Since 2017, Tannico has expanded its footprint to more than 20 markets, including the USA, Germany, UK, and France.
The overall consideration for the 49% interest is €23.4 million. Tannico held €1.6 million net cash as of 31 December 2019. The consideration will be financed through available resources and will be paid using cash. Pursuant to the investment agreement, Campari Group will have the possibility to increase its interest to 100% starting from 2025, based on certain conditions.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of July 2020.
Bob Kunze-Concewitz, Chief Executive Officer of Campari Group: ‘Being an essential part of our digital transformation journey, e-commerce is a strategically relevant channel for our business. In this respect, Tannico, leading e-commerce platform for wines and premium spirits in Italy, represents a unique and strategic fit with our long-term business development goals. By leveraging Tannico’s expertise, we will accelerate our development plans in e-commerce, an already growing channel, but set to become even more strategic following the likely long-lasting changing consumer behaviours due to the COVID-19 emergency, largely enhancing our digital capabilities. Moreover, with our support, Tannico will be able to strongly accelerate its international development and the B2B services, further boosting its already extremely remarkable growth.’.
Marco Magnocavallo, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Tannico: ‘In this moment, as consumers largely evolve in their purchasing behaviours getting increasingly closer to the online world, it is essential for Tannico to have the necessary resources to accelerate its development, without sacrificing the curation that characterizes us. With Campari Group, we have found an ideal partner who can support us in consolidating our leadership in the Italian market as well as significantly expanding our business abroad and in the B2B channel.’.
Andrea Di Camillo, Founding Partner of P101 SGR: ‘As P101 and on behalf of the other investors, who have bet on Tannico with us since 2015, we are extremely satisfied with this transaction that not only prospectively allows us to exit from one of our investments, but also gives us the opportunity to undertake a journey with one of the most attractive Italian companies. This transaction highlights that technology and venture capital are ’allies’ of the companies that, like Campari Group, are focused both on the near term as well as the long run.’.
Vitale&Co S.p.A. and Chiomenti Studio Legale advised P101 SGR on this transaction. Pedersoli Studio Legale and McDermott Will&Emery acted as advisors for Campari Group.
