Apheon acquires a majority stake in Golmar

Apheon, a pan-European mid-market private equity investor, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a majority stake in Golmar Italia S.p.A. (“Golmar” or the “Company”), a leading Italian distributor of branded professional cleaning and hygiene products. The founding Golè family will remain invested in the Company, continuing to support Golmar alongside Apheon and CEO Didier Tisserand, ensuring continuity and alignment in this new phase of growth.

Founded in Turin in 1972 by the Golè family and currently headquartered in Milan, Golmar is a renowned distributor of professional cleaning and hygiene products, serving primarily small businesses. The Company offers a broad range of consumables and technical products – including detergents, disinfectants, protective equipment, paper and nonwoven, and other disposables – used directly by professionals and business owners to clean and sanitize their working instruments and environment. Golmar’s distinctive business model combines a nationwide sales network, an extremely fragmented customer base and an extensive portfolio under its well-known proprietary brand, supported by a robust and integrated logistics platform. This combination has established Golmar as a trusted partner across the industrial, medical & aesthetic, and Ho.Re.Ca. & food sectors in Italy.

Apheon has a longstanding track record of backing entrepreneurial founders, families and management teams across Europe, successfully scaling their companies both through organic growth initiatives and M&A. Apheon intends to accelerate Golmar’s expansion and implement a meaningful buy-and-build strategy in the fragmented Italian distribution sector to create the leading group in its reference space. The partnership will also strengthen Golmar’s positioning in high-potential end-markets, broaden its product portfolio with innovative and sustainable solutions, and further professionalize the organization.

Mr. Didier Tisserand, CEO, said, “The partnership with Apheon marks an exciting milestone for Golmar. We see significant opportunities to accelerate growth, diversify our product offering and further enhance our service to clients throughout Italy. With Apheon’s backing, we are confident we can execute a selective buy-and-build strategy that will reinforce our leadership position and unlock significant synergies.

Mr. Riccardo Collini, Partner at Apheon, added, “Golmar is an outstanding company with a distinctive business model and a trusted brand in the Italian professional hygiene sector. We are excited to join forces with Didier Tisserand to accelerate Golmar’s next stage of growth, unlocking value through organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions, and proud to count on the continued support of the Golè family as minority shareholders in our ambitious development journey.

Mr. Bruno Golè, Chairman, commented, “Golmar has been part of our family for more than 50 years, and we are proud of the strong company it has become. By reinvesting alongside Apheon, we reaffirm our full confidence in Golmar’s future and in this new chapter of growth. With Apheon’s support, Golmar will continue to build on its heritage and seize new opportunities to reinforce its leadership in the Italian market.

About Golmar:

Founded in Turin in 1972 by the Golè family and currently headquartered in Milan, Golmar is a leading distributor of professional cleaning and hygiene products. The Company serves a highly diversified customer base across the industrial, medical & aesthetic, and Ho.Re.Ca. & food markets through a nationwide commercial network of exclusive agents and a robust logistics platform. Golmar’s comprehensive product portfolio includes chemicals, personal protective equipment, paper and nonwoven and other disposables, sold under its well-known proprietary brand.

For more information, please visit www.golmar.com.

About Apheon:

Apheon is a pan-European mid-market private equity investment company managing ~€3 billion of assets from select global institutional investors and families. Apheon is characterized by its partnership approach, providing “patient and friendly capital” and industrial know-how to entrepreneurs and management teams, preparing their companies for the future. Through its pan-European footprint, the firm acts as a gateway into Europe for companies in the mid-market. Since its founding in 2005, Apheon has raised more than €3.5 billion in capital, invested in ~40 companies across Europe and completed ~200 add-on acquisitions for a total aggregate transaction value in excess of €7 billion. Apheon’s current portfolio consists of 22 companies across its target sectors, representing ~€3 billion sales and more than 20,000 employees. Apheon is advised by Apheon Advisors, which has offices in Brussels, Milan, Madrid, Paris, Munich and Amsterdam.

For more information, please visit www.apheon.com.

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For more information, please contact:

Apheon
John Mansvelt, COO, Apheon
jm@apheon.com
T: +32 2 213 60 90

Natalia Yek, Head of Investor Relations, Apheon
ny@apheon.com
T: +39 340 18 29 313

Our manifesto: contributing to the development of sustainable finance

Sustainability generates long-term and higher value

Apheon’s ambition is to contribute to the development of sustainable finance by placing sustainability at the core of its strategy and demonstrating by example that it delivers higher and better value for portfolio companies and investors.
 
We are convinced that businesses that respect the planet, that look after their employees and that support their communities will in turn attract the best talent, differentiate themselves from their competition and ultimately emerge as the strongest in the future.

A holistic and collective approach

To succeed with this strategy, Apheon believes a holistic and collective approach is fundamental.

Holistic: it is essential that all aspects of ESG are equally and continuously supported. This is why we are active at every stage of the investment cycle by applying proprietarily developed methodologies and initiatives which are built on 5 priorities covering the broad ESG spectrum:

  • Sustainable revenues (strategy): increasing, when applicable, the share of revenues which directly benefit the environment and/or society

  • Carbon (environment): reducing emissions

  • Talent (social): creating a positive working environment which will attract, develop and retain the best talent

  • Youth, diversity and inclusion (societal): fostering a more inclusive society

  • Transparency (governance): reporting on metrics transparently, and being transparent on potential obstacles
Collective: we believe that it is only through collective action that we can create significant impact. This is why it is our intention to pull together Apheon’s entire ecosystem to undertake our ESG initiatives. This includes mobilizing our employees, portfolio companies, investors, external experts, charitable organizations, public institutions and peers. At this time of global transition, we believe that sustainable finance plays a key role in advancing towards a sustainable planet and society. Financial players, in particular private equity firms such as Apheon, are in a position to drive forward action by leveraging their business model of transforming companies. Apheon is keen to play such role and to move forward every day with humility but also conviction.