Italy: Bahrain’s Investcorp agrees to buy Epipoli

Rome: Bahrain’s Investcorp has finalised a deal to acquire Epipoli, an Italian alternative payments company.

The asset will be purchased from London-headquartered private equity Bregal Milestone and Epipoli founder and CEO Gaetano Giannetto.

Giannetto will continue to hold a significant minority stake and lead the company.

No terms of the transaction were disclosed.

Epipoli owns the largest customer relationship management (CRM) and loyalty programme in Italy, with over six million customers. It has a turnover of €400 million.

José Pfeifer, head of European private equity buyouts at Investcorp, said the acquisition will allow Epipoli’s expansion across Europe.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions.

Since 2012, Investcorp European private equity has invested more than €2 billion in regional companies.

The agreed acquisition of Epipoli follows previous investments in other Italian-headquartered companies, such as SEC Newgate, Innova Semplice, Vivaticket, and Dainese.