Private equity funds mull a deal on Lastminute.com

Lastminute.com, the web portal for online travel research mainly  conntrolled by the Italiann entrepreneur and well-known business angel Fabio Cannavale, is said to be in talks with the Triton private equity firm and the dossier is also said to involve some investment banks, including Nomura, Ubs and  Intesa Sanpaolo. Il Sole 24 Ore reports, without however explaining whether the target of the negotiations is a minority or the control of the company. In 2004 Fabio Cannavale and Marco Corradino had launched Volagratis.com, which they developed with the Bravofly brand in Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. In 2010 some business angels invested in the group as well as Axa Private Equity (today Ardian) and the Italian financier Francesco Micheli, through its Micheli Associati. Also in 2010, the group opened to the cruise sector with the Crocierissime brand.
After the acquisition of the Spanish Rumbo in 2012 and of Jetcost in 2013, the group was listed on the Zurich Stock Exchange in 2014 with a 105 million Swiss francs IPO, with the name of Bravofly Rumbo Group. In 2015 the group acquired the British lastminute.com portal and changed its name to lastminute.com group.
In 2018 the group changed its name to Lm Group once again, which is now controlled by a sshareholders’ pact through Lm Holding, of which Mr. Cannavale holds the majority. The group closed 2018 with revenues of around 286.9 million euros and an ebitda of 44 millions with a net financial debt of 31.9 millions (see the presentation to analysts here). The first half of 2019, on the other hand, closed with 166 million euros in revenues, an ebitda of 35 millions and a net financial debt of 76.1 millions (see the presentation to analysts here).