ADVICE GROUP: new partners enter the shareholding structure of the martech company specialized in loyalty programs.
Metrika Tech Fund together with Aegida investments, supported by ABC Capital Partners, take over the share held by HAT SGR and subscribe to a capital increase aimed at the technological development of the platform and the expansion services, also through M&A operations.
Milan, 07th of July 2021 – Advice Group S.p.A. is an innovative SME, based in Turin, operating in the martech and behavioural loyalty segment with over 50 national and international clients managed over 20 international industry awards won in the last 4 years.
The new shareholders enter the company’s capital through the acquisition of the share held by HAT SGR, subscribing to a further capital increase – for a share of 51% – dedicated to the implementation of technological evolutions and execution of M&A transactions. preparatory to the completion of the Group’s “user centric” offer.
The goal Is to position Advice Group as a distinctive player in innovative marketing based on a 100% made in Italy technology, able to offer companies a single end-to-end martech solution: from the user activation phase to the conversion phase, up to the retention phase.
After the acquisition of Leevia S.r.l. and the excellent results obtained in 2021, the Group, led by the founding partner and CEO Fulvio Furbatto, aims to consolidate the proprietary technology and expand the got-to-market, through the Identification of a structured target in the activation phase of the “unknown” user, in order to achieve ambitious industrial growth plan, shared with the new investors.
Furbatto continues: “This operation will allow us to consolidate our role as Martech and Loyalty partner in the FMCG, Utility, Finance & insurance segments, as well as expand our reference markets, riding the transformations taking place in the retail and entertainment economy (publishing-music-sports-culture).
Technological development also includes the launch of new gamification, edutainment and recognition features, to be added to our tried and tested loyalty engine and the newly acquired Leevia contest engine. A unique ecosystem of platforms to offer plug&play solutions, inspired by the models of performance and subscription economy”.
Advice can count on two new partners who, with complementary characteristics, will stimulate the national and international growth of the Group, increasing its market share.
On one side Metrika Tech, a Private Equity fund specialized in the technology sector, thanks to the exclusive support of the Advisory Company ABC Capital Partners; on the other side Aegida investments, a Club Deal composed by families and managers of great industrial relevance, which invest in Italian SMEs and innovative start-ups. This investment underlines the trajectory Advice Group has outlined for the next years.
“We believe that there are many interesting and complementary companies capable of embracing Advice’s vision, our goal will be to intercept them and support the creation of a martech hub 100% made in Italy”. These are the comments of Franco Pastor, CEO of Aegida investments and Dario Albarello, CEO of ABC Capital Partners.
The legal advisors involved in the transaction were Chiomenti, supporting Advice Group, Gilberti Triscornia Associati and Pedersoli for the investors.
Advice Group, funded in 2006 from an entrepreneurial Idea of Fulvio Furbatto, is the company that first introduced in Italy the use of behavioural loyalty marketing, a concept based on the management of behavioural relationship programs with users thanks to the analysis of a large volumes of data (big data) transformed into clusters (smart data), and on the possibility to act in real time with targeted actions to support sales. in 2008 Advice signs the first digital collection for Lavazza in Europe, introducing a new market paradigm. First in 2014 with Sammontana, in 2018 with UnipoSai, in 2019 with the football club AS Roma and in 2020 with Edison Energia, it won the authoritative Loyalty Awards in London. in 2021 with the same project, it won a further recognition at the Echo Awards in New York. in 2017 it obtained the FT1000 recognition, in the Financial Times ranking of the fastest growing companies in Europe. in 2019 it received Italian recognition from SOle24Ore, as a Growth Leader, which has been reconfirmed for 2021. The Group is headquartered in Italy and has launched an internationalization plan with commercial partnerships in Peru, Mexico, Colombia and Balkan area. Advice has a workforce of 55 people. in May 2021 it acquired the start-up Leevia S.r.l..
ABC Capital Partners S.r.l. is an advisory company that combine financial and industrial expertise especially for the “Digital Enabler” market. The main service offered are: the analysis of the sectors of interest, the identification of the target companies for investments, the monitoring and creation of value on the portfolio of companies and the support in valorisation strategies. ABC Capital Partners is the exclusive advisory company of the Metrika Tech Fund.
The company was founded in late 2020 by Dario Albarello, Francesco Baroncelli and Alessandro Cozzi.
Dario Albarello has been working for 20 years in the world of investment Banking and Private Equity where he previously managed the ICT Fund launched by Orizzonte SGR (late to become HAT SGR).
Francesco Baroncelli is an entrepreneur and manager in the ICT world where he has always been involved in extraordinary transactions. He founded the Adelante Group which later merged into Wiit S.p.A., a company where he covers the role of Chief M&A Officer and Board Member.
Alessandro Cozzi is the founder, CEO and majority stakeholder of Wiit S.p.A., a company listed on the STAR market of the Italian Stock Exchange. The group is now one of the leading private cloud operators and is undergoing an important internationalization process.
Aegida investments is the management company of the Club Deal Aegida, a group of private investors with significant assets who want to share their mutual experience, knowledge and economic and financial strengths in order to originate a diversified portfolio of companies and create value through new business opportunities to complement their already established realities. Aegida investments makes direct investments in Venture and Growth Cpaital and Buy/Out in Europe and North America. Aegida investments acquires stakes in private companies operating within particualr market niches, characterized by a great potential for development in their own markets and abroad and a low risk profile. in March 2021, Jacaranda Caracciolo Falk was appointed Chairman of Aegida investments. The Board of Directors includes Lorenzo Bertelli, Andrea Silvestri, Lorenzo Tersi and the Chief Executive Officer Francesco Pastor.
