Livingstone acted as financial advisor to Carnovali-CBS Group, assisting its shareholders and management in structuring and executing the transaction through which QCapital acquired a 35% stake in the Group. QCapital is a financial investor specialising in the organisation of private equity club deals involving Italian SMEs.
The club deal organised by QCapital brings together prominent entrepreneurial families, family offices, financial institutions and established professionals.
Founded in the 1970s and headquartered in Nuvolera, in the province of Brescia, Carnovali-CBS Group is one of Italy’s leading providers of equipment and vehicle set-ups for the collection, transport and management of industrial waste. The Group comprises holding company Builder S.r.l. and its subsidiaries: Carnovali S.p.A., which designs and manufactures containers, compactors and stationary balers; CBS S.r.l., which specialises in industrial vehicles set-ups for waste collection and transport; and the recently acquired Officine Minelli S.r.l., a manufacturer of industrial material handlers for the waste management sector.
With more than 350 employees and 8 production facilities across Lombardy and Veneto, the Group expects to generate aggregate revenues of approximately €110 million in 2026 (representing a CAGR of more than 30% over the past ten years) and EBITDA in excess of €18 million.
QCapital’s investment marks an important milestone for the Group, which has grown significantly in recent years, both organically and through acquisitions, most recently with the integration of Officine Minelli (a transaction advised by Livingstone Partners).
QCapital’s investment and expertise will enable the Group to accelerate its growth strategy and strengthen its market leadership. In a highly fragmented market, the Group will also pursue acquisitions in adjacent and complementary segments, with the aim of further expanding the range of products and services it offers customers.
The Carnovali family and Simone Bolzoni will retain a majority stake and continue to lead the Group through its next phase of development, maintaining the hands-on management and entrepreneurial vision that have underpinned its success to date.
Ruggero Carnovali, Chairman, and Simone Bolzoni, Chief Executive Officer of Builder Group, commented: “This transaction marks the beginning of a new phase for our Group, which will continue to be built on the values that have guided our history: product quality, closeness to our customers and attention to the people who work with us every day. With QCapital’s support, we aim to accelerate our growth journey, including through M&A, while remaining firmly rooted in Nuvolera.”
Stefano Miccinelli and Francesco Niutta of QCapital commented: “We are very pleased to become part of Builder’s story, a group that has established itself as a leader in its sector thanks to the entrepreneurial capabilities of the Carnovali family and Simone Bolzoni. Together with the management team, our objective is to support the Group’s growth journey, including through targeted acquisitions, in a market offering significant development opportunities.”
“We are pleased to have advised the Carnovali and Bolzoni family at this important stage in the development of Carnovali-CBS Group, whose progress we have seen first-hand over time. Thanks to the vision and dedication of its management team, Carnovali-CBS has become a solid and distinctive industrial platform, steadily broadening its offering and bringing together complementary capabilities to provide customers with increasingly comprehensive, high-value solutions. QCapital’s investment will add further momentum to the Group’s ambitions, supporting its growth strategy and enabling it to capitalise on consolidation opportunities in a rapidly evolving market,” said Luca Maccagnani Castelli, Managing Partner at Livingstone.
