Families, entrepreneurs and institutions acquire a minority stake in Equita

• Equita announces the entry of new minority shareholders in the share capital of the Company

• A group of families, entrepreneurs and institutions acquires a 12% stake in Equita

• The management confirms its role of reference shareholder with a 38% stake and 51% of the total voting rights of the capital

• New shareholders will represent a group of “core investors” that will support the management in the achievement of the ambitious 2024 targets

Milan, 13 May 2022

Andrea Vismara, Chief Executive Officer at Equita, commented: “As announced with our three-year business plan Equita 2024, the inclusion of new entrepreneurs and families close to Equita among our shareholders was one of our priorities. These new investors have appreciated the investment case since the very beginning. We are confident they will contribute proactively to the acceleration of the business, and we are glad to have engaged with highly-respected entrepreneurs and institutions that share our values and trust in our long term project”.

Francesco Perilli, Executive Director at Equita, commented: “The transaction was driven by the desire of the senior management to rebalance the partnership in favour of younger, more involved managers, and at the same time to strengthen and protect the independence of the Group, which has always set Equita apart”.

Equita Group S.p.A. (“Equita” or the “Company”, and, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) announces the entry of a group of families, entrepreneurs and institutions close to Equita (the “New Shareholders”) with a minority stake of 12% in the share capital of the Company (the “Transaction”).

Some managers of the Group – who are also senior shareholders of Equita – have signed on 13 May 2022 an agreement to sell a minor part of their participation in Equita to the New Shareholders, allowing the latter to join to the partnership and establish a group of “core investors” who will support the management.

Managers involved in the Transaction – who are part of the shareholders’ agreement signed on 10 February 2022 (the “Pact”) and represents 46% of the share capital and 57% of the total voting rights – will sell a block of shares of c.a. 12% to New Shareholders as well as some other managers.

The completion of the Transaction is expected in the coming days and, in any case, by 20 May 2022. Following the Transaction, the management adhering to the Pact will remain the largest shareholder of the Group with a 33% stake and 45% of the total voting rights. Including the ownerships of other managers and employees non participating in the Pact, managers and Equita employees will represent ca. 38% of the share capital and ca. 51% of the total voting rights.

The Transaction aims not only to allow New Shareholders to enter the share capital but also rebalance the role of managers by increasing the relative weight of managers with operating responsibilities within the Pact. Indeed, some managers who participate to the Pact have increased their stake in the Company by investing together with the New Shareholders.

Considering the long-term nature of the Transaction – where the New Shareholders will support the management as minority shareholders – the agreement includes 12-months lock-up commitments for both New Shareholders (on the shares acquired within the Transaction) and the managers involved in the Transaction (on the remaining shares owned as the date of the Transaction).

In addition to the New Shareholders, the Transaction has also involved some institutional investors who have invested in the Company since the IPO and who have increased their stake in the Company by c.a. 0.4%.