IDeA Taste of Italy announces the sale of its stake in Wisecap Group

IDeA Taste of Italy, a private equity fund managed by DeA Capital Alternative Funds SGR S.p.A., has sold its stake in Wisecap, equal to 35% of the share capital, to a European investment office which will bring valuable resources and expertise to accelerate the company’s growth alongside the Delfanti family.

Wisecap is one of the largest European producers of caps and closures with an exclusive focus on the beverage sector. With 5 plants in Italy, Spain, Poland and Czech Republic, the group produces over 13 billion caps per year, supplying the main water and soft drinks bottlers -both local and multinational brands- with the most complete product range of the market. Since its foundation in 1977 in Piacenza, the group has always distinguished itself for its culture of service and innovation.

Since IDeA Taste of Italy’s investment in March 2017, the group has grown its sales from €40 to over €100 million. This growth is the result of the launch of new product lines, such as the “extralight” caps, the premium aluminum closures for glass bottles and the “tethered” closures required by the new EU regulations; of important contract wins with the largest beverage multinationals; of 2 acquisitions carried out in 2017 and 2020 in Spain and Poland, respectively. Today, more than half of sales are generated abroad.

IDeA Taste of Italy has supported Wisecap and entrepreneur Alessandro Delfanti allowing the continuous investment in technology, implementing the M&A strategy and helping the enlargement of the management team.

The Delfanti family, controlling shareholder with a stake of 65% of the share capital, has not sold any shares and will continue its activity in the company alongside the new financial investor.

Filippo Amidei, Managing Director of IDeA Taste of Italy, commented:

“We are proud of having supported Wisecap in a transformational growth journey, during which the company has consolidated the sector with two acquisitions and has established itself as the partner of choice for the most important European water and soft drinks bottlers. We are grateful to the Delfanti family and to all the managers and employees of the company for their effort”.

Alessandro Delfanti, CEO of Wisecap, commented: “We would like to thank IDeA Taste of Italy for its commitment to growth and for being always mindful of the company values and always ready to work with us, day by day, for the fulfillment of the goals that we had set. Today, Wisecap is ideally positioned for the next growth phase, also through additional acquisitions”.

IDeA Taste of Italy was assisted in the transaction by Tyche Finance as financial advisor, with a team led by Carlo Dawan, by law firm Gianni & Origoni, by KPMG for accounting and tax matters, by goetzpartners for business matters and by Marsh for insurance matters. The Delfanti family was assisted by law firm PedersoliGattai.