Bain Capital to Acquire Somacis

Partnership with Chequers and Management Team to Accelerate Growth Agenda across Aerospace & Defence, MedTech and Industrial Technology Applications

LONDON, MILAN – August 7th, 2024 – Bain Capital, a leading global private investment firm, today announced it has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Somacis, an Italian-headquartered manufacturer of high-mix / low-volume, high-specification and mission-critical printed circuit boards (PCBs) from Chequers Capital, who will reinvest into the Company alongside the management team, led by CEO Giovanni Tridenti. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Somacis’ high-technology PCB solutions, built on strong engineering know-how and developed with client proximity, serve various high-performance end-markets such as Aerospace & Defence, MedTech, and Datacentres / AI, among several others. The business operates across the full value chain, offering R&D prototyping, ramp-up, and end-to-end production. Somacis was founded in 1972 and has expanded in recent years through organic investments and selected, on-strategy acquisitions. It maintains a global footprint composed of five state-of-the-art facilities in Europe, North America and Asia.

Ivano Sessa, a Partner and Co-Head of European Industrials at Bain Capital said: “Given its strength in the market, Somacis is well positioned to benefit from sustainable long-term re-shoring tailwinds which increase the demand for PCBs manufactured in the US and EU. We are pleased to back one of the leaders in its field.”  Giacomo Massetti, a Managing Director at Bain Capital, added: “We look forward to working alongside Giovanni Tridenti, the management team and Chequers to accelerate growth organically and through M&A, drawing on our knowledge of global industrials value chains, and leveraging our internationalization playbook (grounded on our experience with companies such as Fedrigoni and Ahlstrom), as well as our relevant end-market sector expertise (through companies like ITP Aero)”.

Giovanni Tridenti, CEO of Somacis said: “I would like to thank Chequers for their valuable partnership and outstanding work over the past years and am pleased that they will remain invested alongside our fully committed management team as we are joined by Bain Capital. We are excited for Bain Capital to bring its expertise in international development and operational capabilities to further enhance our global reach and help us fulfil our long-term ambitions, which are underpinned by a mix of organic and inorganic strategic growth initiatives, and on the strengthening of the value-add proposition to our customers.”

Philippe Guérin, Chequers Capital’s Managing Partner commented: “Over the past years, we have worked alongside the Somacis management team to strengthen the Company’s operations and positioning and to make strategic acquisitions. We are very pleased to reinvest alongside Bain Capital and such an excellent management team with the goal to become the number one global player in our segment.”

The transaction is subject to approval by regulatory authorities.

Morgan Stanley and Bank of America acted as financial advisors to Bain Capital. Jefferies acted as exclusive financial advisor to Chequers and Somacis, with a team led by Jefferies’ Head of Italy Investment Banking Mauro Premazzi.

About Somacis
Headquartered in Italy, Somacis is one of the leading high-mix, low-volume focused PCB manufacturers, with more than 1,700 employees and production plants in Europe, North America and Asia. For more than fifty years Somacis has been a dynamic company producing high-tech and innovative PCB solutions.
Somacis supplies HDI, rigid, rigid-flex and flex PCBs for mission critical and value-added production requirements for the Aerospace, Defence, and Medical Technology industries. It also supplies high-specification applications in high-mix, low-volume PCBs for other high-growth applications including Datacentres/AI, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), Semiconductor Testing, and other industrial technology applications.

About Bain Capital Private Equity
Bain Capital Private Equity has partnered closely with management teams to provide the strategic resources that build great companies and help them thrive since its founding in 1984. Bain Capital Private Equity's global team of more than 280 investment professionals creates value for its portfolio companies leveraging its global platform and depth of expertise in key vertical industries including healthcare, consumer/retail, financial and business services, industrials, and technology, media and telecommunications. Bain Capital Private Equity has 23 offices on four continents. Since its inception, the firm has made primary or add-on investments in more than 1,150 companies. In addition to private equity, Bain Capital invests across multiple asset classes, including credit, public equity, venture capital and real estate, managing approximately $185 billion in total assets and leveraging the firm's shared platform to capture opportunities in strategic areas of focus. 

About Chequers Capital
Chequers Capital is a pan-European investment company with 25 investment professionals focusing on investments in the Benelux, France, the DACH region, and Italy. Founded in 1972, Chequers is one of Europe's oldest private equity houses with over €3bn of assets under management and investments in more than 350 companies, today investing from fund XVIII. The focus is on companies operating in a B2B environment with strong underlying potential, where it can work with founders and management teams to create robust, well-positioned companies with excellent long-term prospects.