Italmobiliare has agreed to sell its controlling stake in Italian cured-meats producer Capitelli Fratelli to European agri-food group CA Animation.

In a statement, the investment company said it has signed a binding agreement to sell its entire 80% holding in Capitelli. The transaction values Capitelli at €36m ($40.4m) on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

Under the terms of the deal, CA Animation will also buy a 10% stake from Capitelli’s president and son of its founder Angelo Capitelli, who will remain a shareholder with the other 10%.

The deal would deliver a “three times cash-on-cash return” for Italmobiliare, including dividends received during its ownership, the statement added.

Italmobiliare chairman and CEO Carlo Pesenti said: “We are pleased to have accompanied Capitelli over the last few years, giving impetus to the development of a company that represents excellence within the national gastronomic panorama.”

Based in Borgonovo Val Tidone within Italy's Piacenza province, Capitelli makes cooked and smoked cured meats. Its flagship product is San Giovanni cooked ham, which was launched in 1994.

Italmobiliare acquired a majority holding in the meat company from Angelo Capitelli at the end of 2019.

According to the investment company, it guided the business on a path of “growth and development”, taking Capitelli’s revenue to €24.7m in 2025, up more than 70% from 2019.

Angelo Capitelli said the acquisition by CA Animation will open “a new chapter full of interesting opportunities”.

“Our family enthusiastically confirms its presence in the company with the conviction that has accompanied us since the beginning: for as long as the Capitelli name is on the product, there will always be a promise of quality to be kept,” he added.

CA Animation is already present in Italy’s cured-meats sector through investments in Dok and Pio Tosini. The agri-food group also owns processed meats and charcuterie distributor Loste Tradi-France.

The Capitelli deal is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

Marcello Balzarini, Capitelli’s CEO since 2020 – whom Italmobiliare credited with making a “fundamental contribution” to the company’s development – will remain at the helm.