Italian ceramic tile manufacturer secures €45 million to fuel next growth chapter
ABK Industrie Ceramiche S.p.A. (ABK Group) has finalized a partnership with Cleon Capital Advisors (Cleon), which has taken a minority stake in the company. Cleon invested €45 million, mostly via a capital increase, to support ABK Group’s next development phases.
Founded in 1992 in Finale Emilia (Modena), ABK Group is a leader in Made in Italy porcelain ceramic tile manufacturing. It distributes products in over 100 countries, employs over 600 people, and generated €233 million consolidated revenue in 2022. Over the past 7 years, the group invested over €100 million in state-of-the-art production technologies and international expansion through the French Desvres acquisition and US commercial agreements. ABK Group also stands out for product quality and design, its exclusive Versace license, and innovative architectural solutions like the patented invisible induction Cooking Surface Prime.
The Cleon partnership will allow ABK Group to capitalize on its investments by accelerating and expanding growth opportunities with speed and flexibility.
Founding partners comment on strategic rationale
ABK Group founding partners Roberto Fabbri, Michelangelo Fortuna and Andrea Guidorzi said: “The Cleon deal represents an important step in our 30+ year growth journey. After careful selection, we believe we have found in Cleon the partner that can provide, in addition to financial resources, a network of skills and relationships fundamental to seize the opportunities the group prepared for in recent years through significant industrial investments. Cleon has a truly flexible and unique business model, different from private equity funds and, in our opinion, suitable for an entrepreneurial context that characterizes many medium-sized companies like ours. Together with Cleon, we have shared the goals of a new and challenging growth phase that will be led by the second generation, already in the company, with the support of a qualified management team.”
Cleon partners highlight growth potential
Cleon partners Lorenzo and Nicola Zambon said: “We are excited to support ABK Group’s shareholders and management and contribute to future development goals. The vision, skills and abilities of the founders have guided the company along a path of continuous growth and evolution, leading it in recent years to a position of excellence in the industry. We will make available the wealth of knowledge and relationships of the international network of entrepreneurs who, together with us, believed in ABK Group’s potential and the great development opportunities that recent technologies have made accessible.”
