Bluegem acquires Italian hair care brand Medavita

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Aug 2, 2019

London-based private equity fund Bluegem has acquired Pool Service, the owner of Italian hair care brand Medavita, just days after offloading its controlling stake in luxury retailer Liberty London.

The European mid-market fund focused on consumer brands acquired Pool Service from private equity house Accord Management and the Cattaneo family for an undisclosed sum.

Pool Service is a leading developer and manufacturer of premium professional hair care products, producing items for both its own Medavita brand and third-party labels.

It joins the Bluegem portfolio of brands as Liberty London leaves it, following a recapitalisation deal led Glendower Capital.

Bluegem said it sees numerous growth opportunities for Pool Service, which generated sales of about 40 million euros in 2018. The group has strong R&D capabilities in new product development, and a proprietary portfolio of over 10,000 formulations. Last year it developed 700 new products.

“It is a tremendous opportunity for Pool Service and Medavita to partner with Bluegem, a fund specialised in developing leading consumer brands internationally,'' said Stefano Banfo, shareholder and CEO of Pool Service and Medavita. “This investment launches a new phase of development for our company.”

Banfo will remain as CEO to lead the company’s expansion in the coming years.

“We are thrilled to be able to partner with Stefano Banfo and his team and we see numerous growth opportunities for the business both in Italy and abroad,” added Emilio Di Spiezio Sardo, co-founder of Bluegem.

Referring to the private equity firm’s acquisition of QMS Medicosmetics in 2017 and Iconic London in 2018, Constantin Rojahn, director of Bluegem, said: “We are excited to complete our third investment in the beauty industry in less than two years. We view this acquisition as the basis of a haircare platform and are actively looking to consolidate the market by acquiring additional leading independent haircare brands.” 

Medavita has been part of the Pool Service group since 2015.