Sviluppo Sostenibile, a private equity fund specialized in investments in Italian SMEs and promoting ESG issues, managed by DeA Capital Alternative Funds SGR, a company of the Novara-based De Agostini Group, acquired a majority stake in Magic.

Magic, founded in 1987, is a family-owned company based in Oleggio (NO) Italy, led by CEO Mauro Giani, son of the founder, and CFO Mara Galli, his cousin. The company is active in producing and processing airlaid for a variety of applications, including food (which accounts for 70% of turnover), medical, industrial and hygiene. In addition to the production of sustainable super absorbent raw materials, the company is also specialised in converting processes: laminating, coating, cutting and folding.

The production plant covers 8,800 square meters and is equipped with 15 production lines, enabling Magic to produce 103 million square meters of output each year, and then export to 37 countries. With around 90 full-time employees, Magic provides its customers a full range of high-quality products.

Magic, which had a turnover of €26.3 million in 2022, has a strong focus on research and development, towards sustainable and biodegradable solutions and has developed several innovative solutions.
In 2015, a university study showed the feasibility of producing a super-absorbent powder without chemical additives: Magic strongly believed in the project, and in a few years implemented and tested a process and a plant to produce Spongel, a biodegradable super-absorbent powder. Subsequent investments in research and development led in 2020 to the implementation of a new production line for Airgel g-grade, a compostable airlaid that contains Magic’s patented super-absorbent powder.

Sviluppo Sostenibile will accompany Magic in its growth and ESG commitment, by pursuing new product launches, geographic diversification, and supporting it in developing other market segments.

Mauro Giani and Mara Galli will keep their positions as managing directors and will continue to lead the company.

Giani says: “This investment is an opportunity of important strategic growth for Magic, allowing us to better pursue our ambitious goals of growth and innovation.”

Galli adds: “Among investment funds, we are satisfied that it is a fund from the area close to us that supports and shares a growth based on sustainability.”

Marco Albanesi, Sviluppo Sostenibile’s managing director, comments: “We are pleased to invest in Magic, a leader company in its reference market and able to be constantly innovating with the launch of new products. In addition to the company’s performance characterized by continuous growth, we were also impressed by its development plan increasingly focused on social responsibility objectives, in which the company’s strategic and management choices do not disregard ethical and social considerations.”