Azulis Capital takes majority stake in Ital Express

The acquisition of Ital Express by Azulis Capital represents a secondary buyout facilitating the exit of LFPI Gestion after a six-year holding period dedicated to stabilizing the asset's core revenue base and broadening its product perimeter into light commercial vehicles. The ownership transition is designed to pivot the company from historical organic stability toward an aggressive capital deployment phase, focused on consolidating the highly fragmented domestic automotive and agricultural aftermarket through programmatic M&A. The transaction is financed via a balanced capital structure comprising a senior debt facility arranged by Banque Palatine and Caisse d'Épargne, alongside a mezzanine debt layer provided by LFPI Mezzanine, maintaining a conservative leverage profile of 3.0x to 4.0x historical social EBITDA to safeguard operational cash flow. Management continuity is secured via a material equity roll-over by Chief Executive Officer Patrice Claverie, aligning leadership incentives with the post-acquisition strategy which targets immediate investments in web-based B2B procurement channels, international market penetration, and the execution of a qualified pipeline of domestic competitors.

It is worth noting that the fund Groupe Lfpi took control of Ital Express through an LBO in 2008.