Among the pioneers of investments in Search Funds to support the generational transition of SMEs
An innovative initiative to support the development of Search Funds in Italy and Europe.
Milan, 28 May 2024
Search Capital Partners is proud to officially announce its launch, marking a significant development in the landscape of alternative investments dedicated to Search Funds.
Search Capital Partners, an investment holding company dedicated to Search Funds, aims to become a key player in this asset class in Italy and Europe, offering its members a unique tool to support Searchers and their respective Search Funds in acquiring small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The initiative was born from the collaboration between Sovereign Capital Advisory and DGPA&Co, combining decades of experience in the financial and direct investment sectors with a deep understanding of the Italian and international SME market. This synergy not only strengthens Search Capital Partners’ position in the market but also ensures that the management and growth of the Search Fund ecosystem are supported by knowledge and experience validated by years of expertise in M&A, direct investments, and SME management.
An Innovative Model for Investors
Search Capital Partners offers its members a unique opportunity to participate in the acquisition of target SMEs through a “deal-by-deal” investment model, allowing each member to choose the specific projects in which to invest. Search Capital Partners is raising an initial capital fund of up to 1.5 million Euros to invest in approximately 25-30 Search Funds in Italy and Europe. This approach provides members with access to a significant cross-border deal flow, offering the opportunity to select numerous SME acquisition deals to participate in.
All acquisitions made by the Search Funds, once a target SME is identified, will follow a management buy-in strategy, with the Searchers becoming the CEOs of the acquired targets and leading them through a growth trajectory aligned with the industrial plan shared with investors during the search, preliminary selection, and due diligence phases.
The distinctive feature of Search Capital Partners lies in its ability to allow members to build a diversified portfolio of Search Funds and subsequently around 15-20 SMEs, each led by the individual managers who promoted the initially invested Search Funds, ensuring a full alignment of interests. Following the initial capitalization, further capitalizations will occur on a “deal-by-deal” basis, enabling Search Capital Partners to invest up to 30 million Euros in the Search Fund asset class.
Search Capital Partners offers a more flexible and diversified solution for investors compared to traditional Club Deals, allowing for asset allocation across numerous SMEs and mitigating the risk of excessive concentration on a single target with the same amount of capital.
Luciano Avanzini and Giacomo Andreoli jointly comment: “We are excited to announce the creation of Search Capital Partners, born from our belief that by working together, we can build an ecosystem where intelligent leadership and wisely directed capital merge to accelerate the growth and scalability of businesses. Our goal is to provide bold and capable Searchers with the resources and support necessary to turn this vision into reality. At the same time, we wish to offer our partners a unique opportunity to participate in an asset class with extraordinary growth and return potential.”
The founders continue by emphasizing, “We firmly believe that our model and vehicle can make a significant contribution to the growth of the SME ecosystem in Europe and Italy. We offer a pragmatic solution to the challenges related to generational transition, a topic that is highly relevant today and will become even more so in the coming years. We aim to contribute to the creation of a healthy and resilient economic fabric, led by competent managers in whom we are ready to invest. With Search Capital Partners, we aim to build a future where SMEs can thrive under new, capable, and innovative management, thereby fueling economic and social progress through a bottom-up approach.”
Search Capital Partners has already established a pipeline of 12 Search Funds, currently under analysis, with a primary focus on the European market: five in Italy, four in Spain, two in France, and one in the UK. Additionally, they are opportunistically evaluating a Search Fund in South America and one in the USA, as well as three potential targets already identified and in advanced negotiation stages with Search Funds, two in Italy and one in Spain (under an Equity Gap logic). For more information, you can visit the website searchcapitalpartners.com, which contains numerous details about the Search Funds model and Search Capital Partners.
Gitti and Partners assisted Search Capital Partners with a team led by managing partner Vincenzo Giannantonio, and composed of senior associate Andrea Imberti and associate Daniele Rositani Conti.
The ZNR Notai firm, with notary Federico Mottola Lucano, handled the notarial operations for the establishment.
