Italian swimwear brand Arena Italia is looking for acquisition opportunities in the wearable devices for the sports market, Deputy CEO Giuseppe Musciacchio told Mergermarket. 

The company, which recorded EUR 141m revenue last year, is scouting takeover candidates with the help of its private equity investor, Capvis, Musciacchio said. 

Targets of interest could include companies with in-house technological background in sports science, producing a range of technological sensors and wearable devices to track swimmers’ performances, he said. There is clear potential in the convergence of sport, digital and data in an always-connected and always on-demand world he added.

Arena is really only interested in small to mid-sized targets, as they would be more manageable to integrate, he said without specifying sizes.

The business can finance M&A using a mix of internal cash and support from Capvis, he said. 

Arena’s revenue returned to normal in 2022, Musciacchio said, adding that last year it saw turnover grow by 40% as consumers have ventured outdoors more for leisure activities. This year, revenue is still growing, and the company maintains a strong EBITDA margin, he added without disclosing figures.  

Musciacchio declined to comment on reporting that the business could come up for sale in the second half of this year. 

Arena Italia has a Mergermarket Likely to Exit score of 58.*

M&A activity in the company’s space is ramping up as outdoor leisure activities increase, and that this could be good timing for a sale of Arena, an industry advisor said. 

Recent deals in the leisure space include L Catterton’s sale, last week, of its 79% stake in Italian bicycle company Pinarello to Ivan Glasenberg for an undisclosed sum. In December, Telemos Capital acquired Italian high-end bicycle tyres producer Vittoria from Wise Equity for more than EUR 200m. 

Deals in the pipeline at present include Italian bikes and e-bikes producer Tecno Bike’s search for external investment via Fassina Corporate Advisory; and Progressio-backed ATK Sports’ anticipated auction later this year. ATK Sports is an Italian producer of bindings for ski mountaineering, and has a Mergermarket LTE score of 65.*

*Mergermarket’s Likely to Exit (LTE) predictive algorithm is based on a number of key industry, holding behaviour, and dealflow criteria. Mergermarket’s platform assigns a score to each exit opportunity, with a higher score corresponding to a higher likelihood for an imminent transaction.