Fitesa, one of the world's largest manufacturers of spunmelt and spunbond nonwovens for hygiene applications with sites in countries including Brazil, the U.S., Italy, Sweden and China, has purchased Pantex, a maker of top sheet materials and ealstic bands for diapers and other hygiene products, from the Italian private equity firm Quadrivio Capital
Quadrivio Capital, an Italian firm, reportedly made 2.3 times its initial investment after holding Pantex for just two years. “The sale of Pantex is the seventh exit of Quadrivio Fund II, resulting in a total distribution for the fund of 1.4 times the capital drawdown after six years,” said Quadrivio Capital chairman Alessandro Binello.
Quadrivio initially invested in Pantex to support its international expansion, especially in the U.S., where the company has added three topsheet lines in the past two years. Since being sold by Vision Capital in 2015, Pantex has reportedly grown its sales by approximately 60% to €70 million and grown its earnings by 30%. In addition to the U.S. operation, which is located in South Carolina where Fitesa also operates a sizeable manufacturing facility, Pantex has sites in Italy and the UAE.
Fitesa is owned by Brazlian-based holding company evora, a publicly traded holding company.