IMA buys out rival
bought one of its leading competitors in a deal worth €1.4m.
IMA subsidiary VIMA Impianti signed the deal last week, gaining 100 per cent of the shares of Zanchetta, one of the group's main rivals in the production of machines for the handling and granulation of pharmaceutical powders. The move makes the group the number one in Italy, and significantly strengthens its position in the sector, according to chief financial officer, Sergio Marzo. "Zanchetta is a historically a very well-known brand," Marzo told In-PharmaTechnologist.com. "It's an important acquisition for IMA as it strengthens our presence with VIMA in a market that is growing with a high level of demand." Zanchetta, formerly part of the Romaco Group, was sold off as part of a restructuring drive by Romaco which has been divesting business units that '"do not align with Romaco's core competencies." According to Romaco president Tom Luken, the sale of Zanchetta means that "Romaco is a much more transparent and focused business with a clear product offering of primary and secondary packaging equipment for the pharmaceutical sector" as well as other products aimed for the food and healthcare industries. IMA only acquired automatic packaging machinery producer VIMA Impianti in March last year in a deal worth €5.9m, following two years selling the firm's machines. This was the group's first move in the direction of pharmaceutical processing machinery, and the purchase of Zanchetta has enlarged the company's range of products for the pharmaceutical industry. "Expanding our range of machines for the treatment of pharmaceutical powders will bring about an important knock-on effect in the sale of other products in IMA's vast catalogue," said Alberto Vacchi, managing director of IMA, known primarily as a producer of automatic packaging machines. Although some of the products sold by the companies overlap, Marzo said that there was one granulator product in particular obtained through the acquisition that was very important on the market, and will save the company having to purchase from a third party. Zanchetta's sales in 2006 came in at €10m, but according to Marzo "there is room to improve and increase sales" without the need to adapt the organisational structure; Marzo suggested that sales could easily increase to nearer €15m without having to increase personnel at all. The company is pursuing a line of targeted acquisitions to expand its product offering specifically for the pharmaceutical industry, and noted in its full year financial results for 2006 the positive impact the tactic had had so far. "An excellent performance that involved above all the machines for the pharmaceutical industry, confirming the validity of our growth strategy designed to foster innovation and expand the range of products aimed at this sector," said Vacchi at the time. As for future acquisition plans, Marzo commented that the company are always on the look-out for interesting companies to further expand and complement the company's existing range. "For the time-being, we are working on a possible target, but it's very far away right now," he said. The contract for Zanchetta was signed on Thursday night with 90 per cent of the agreed price paid on closure of the deal; the outstanding balance is due by the end of the month.
