No parochialism this time. The search for possible synergies of growth levers is all played out on the Bergamo-Brescia axis. Project Informaticaportfolio company of H.I.G. Capital and leader of that “bouquet of companies” that finds itself under the umbrella WeAreProjecthas in fact acquired Fasternet, a Brescia-based company specialized in network infrastructures and cybersecurity, continuing along that path of seeking synergies that increase its skills, competences and human capital.
Active since 1985, Fasternet brings its skills in the development of solutions in the networking, collaboration and network security fields and in the provision of services ranging from monitoring to security awareness and OT assessment, thanks to long-established partnerships with companies such as Cisco , Darktrace, SentinelOne, Proofpoint and Fortinet.
The acquisition of Fasternet: a highly synergistic operation
AND Alberto GhisleniCEO of WeAreProject to explain the rationale for this operation.
“Today we are a company with a turnover of 370 million and 720 people. In these two and a half years we have grown a lot, from the initial 120 million with a staff of 200 people, both organically and through acquisitions. The entry of the HIG fund gave us the right push to bring the group to play another game on the national territory and also in an international perspective, so much so that we started with six acquisitions and then stopped, before the pace we have now announced with Fasternet. Because for us an acquisition is based on three assets: skills, territory and quality of people. Fasternet represents all three of these assets, which are indispensable so that for both the acquisition is the lever to make a leap in quality.”
He confirms it Raffaele Legnani, managing director of HIG Italia. “We met Project in 2020 and despite the difficulty of the period we continued to work to create a larger group project, capable of bringing IT solutions to Italian companies that are truly tools for increasing efficiency and productivity. Evidently we managed to communicate the objective of the project well and this allowed us to add companies to the portfolio, thus tripling turnover and staff. The entry of Fasternet is a further step towards new growth objectives”.
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The integration and growth roadmap
Fasternet, a 10 million euro company with 40 people on staff, has been active in the area for 28 years.
He chose to join the Project team, as the CEO explains well Giancarlo Turati, “to give a future to our business and our people, overcoming generational selfishness. The company must face a process of change in a way that is sustainable for itself and for the people who work there. This is why we looked for a company with which to work on an industrial and non-financial process, promoting digital and innovation, without forgetting that we are part of a territory and have responsibilities in the territory itself”.
Turati, in commenting on the strategic decision, adopts Adriano Olivetti’s message regarding the need to create a unity of purpose between the company, the territory and the people and comments thus: “The archer’s task is to launch his arrow as as far away as possible, towards the best target and do not keep it in the quiver.”
Technically, the operation involves the consolidation of Fasternet’s activities Personal Dataa reality which, as the co-founder recalls Giuliano Tonolli not only has it been active in the Brescia area for 40 years, but it believed in Project’s value proposition before the WeAreProject project saw the light, joining the group since 2012.
“So, he explains, we wanted to make a leap in quality also on a dimensional level and we needed Alberto Ghisleni’s muscles. Over the years we have grown thanks to synergies and from 2020 onwards thanks to the work of HIG. With Fasternet we have been carrying out complementary work in the area for some time, from which successful cases have come to life. It is a natural synergy: we have similar visions, in terms of intentions and valorization of people.”
Together, the companies now have partnerships with over 100 brands and the objective is to strengthen existing customers, in terms of upskilling and cross selling, but also to target new customers and markets.
In what times?
The roadmap foresees a span of 18 months to complete the merger project. “We also owe it to our people,” conclude the three managers.