The Robazzi Family chooses QCapital and BIC Capital to accelerate the growth of OTK Kart Group

Many great champions of Formula 1 raced for the OTK Kart Group’s racing team, Tony Kart Racing Team

Milan 30th June 2022 - OTK Kart Group ("OTK") - an Italian company world leader in the production of racing go-karts with the prestigious Tony Kart brand - is preparing to embark on a path of consolidation and further expansion in the global market thanks to the contribution of a primary group of investors under the club deals organized by QCapital and BIC Capital.

The new investors will acquire a 70% stake in the Group and will support the Robazzi Family who, in addition to holding the remaining 30%, will remain at the helm of the company, thereby continuing to play a strategic role within the Group. Roberto Robazzi was confirmed in the role of Chairman and CEO and his daughter Erica Robazzi as the Marketing Director.

OTK Kart Group, which is based in Prevalle (Brescia), generates over 90% of its revenues outside of Italy and operates on a global scale thanks to three branches located in the United States, Japan and Singapore, as well as a network of over 130 distributors present in over 70 countries. On an industrial level, the Group produces every year about six thousand chassis and over two thousand Vortex branded engines.
The Group designs and manufactures all the karts’ components in its production plant of over 17,000 square meters located in the province of Brescia. A characteristic that distinguishes OTK Kart Group on the market has always been the fact that all processes - from design to development to production - are made in house and are 100% made in Italy. This allows to have maximum control over the entire supply chain and ensure the absolute excellence of the final product.

Racing karts are a thriving and rapidly growing business (USA, Australia and Northern Europe are the main markets), animated by the passion of customers-drivers, both professional and amateur, extremely involved in this sport and therefore willing to invest time and resources to improve the performance of their karts. The increasing interest that is being registered at a global level towards Formula 1 - and motor racing in general - further pushes the development trend of racing karts: almost all motor racing drivers and Formula 1 drivers have in fact started their career racing on karts.

OTK Kart Group also has a racing team in its portfolio, the Tony Kart Racing Team - winner of more than twenty world titles and official partner of the Ferrari Driver Academy. Several Formula 1 drivers - such as Michael and Mick Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz and Jarno Trulli - have raced for Tony Kart.

In addition, OTK Kart Group is also organizing the Rok Cup, an international single-branded championship that involves over 1,000 drivers worldwide, as well as the exclusive use of OTK’s engines.
With this deal, OTK Kart Group enters a new phase of its glorious history and thanks to the contribution of the new shareholders - led for QCapital by the President Stefano Miccinelli and the CEO Francesco Niutta and for BIC Capital by the Founder Nicola Volpi and the CEO Antonio Zaccheo - will be able to boost its growth by expanding in new markets and consolidating its presence in strategic geographies such as North America.


Furthermore, thanks to the contribution provided by the new shareholders, OTK Kart Group intends to strengthen its presence in new segments such as the production and commercialization of rental karts for amateur use, bringing all the expertise gained in the racing go-kart sector in the creation of a new product line that will mainly use electric engines.
The Group’s financials have shown continuous growth. In fact, 2021 closed with €35 million in revenues and €6 million in EBITDA. The strong positive trend is confirmed by the forecasts for 2022, which see expected revenues of over €40 million and an EBITDA of over €8 million. Over the next few years, thanks to a solid cash generation, the Robazzi Family and its new partners will jointly explore future investments and new projects to further strengthen the Group's leadership in the market.


Roberto Robazzi, Chairman of OTK Kart Group commented: "Today is a special day for our company which, thanks to the contribution of new partners, is entering a new exciting phase of its growth path. We look forward to working alongside such a prestigious group of professionals, with the aim to take on new challenges and to continue to build the future of OTK Kart Group for the benefit of employees, customers and enthusiasts in general".
Nicola Volpi of BIC Capital and Stefano Miccinelli of QCapital commented: "We are truly honored to be part of the OTK Kart Group family, an important excellence of the entrepreneurial fabric of our country which for decades has been the world leader in an interesting sector. Together we want to help shape a new page in its glorious history. The challenges of the future will see us engaged, alongside the Robazzi family, in a path of further growth for the company with the aim of expanding into new businesses and new international markets".

The Robazzi family was assisted by Paolo Favilla of KT Finance, while the transaction with the investors was organized by: EY for the financial and fiscal part, ADVANT Nctm and Virtax for the legal aspects, Essentia and Pedersoli Studio Legale for the financing, OC&C/Long Term Partners for the commercial part and ERM for the environmental part.

For more information Community
Marco Rubino
Giuliana Pampani marco@communitygroup.it
 
OTK Kart Group.

The history of OTK Kart Group begins with Tony Kart, a chassis brand founded in the 1960s in Italy. The turning point for the company took place in the 1980s with the new ownership, which added the technological component to the artisan one. From that moment the company began a development and investment plan that made it today’s leader of the go-kart racing sector. OTK Kart Group has always distinguished itself for its innovative work, which resulted from 38 years of research and development; in fact, OTK is synonymous with quality, performance and technology: each OTK product is designed, developed and manufactured in-house. Today OTK not only produces Tony Kart branded chassis, but also Kosmic Kart, Exprit Kart, Redspeed Kart, Gillard Kart, Ln Racing Kart and Eos Kart, and also produces Vortex and Rok branded engines. OTK's activity finds application on the track with its Racing Team, the Tony Kart Racing Team, which can boast a palmarès of over 20 world titles and many other European titles.

QCapital.

Founded by Stefano Miccinelli, Francesco Niutta, Massimo Busetti, Renato Peroni and Giovanni Pedersoli, QCapital is a company dedicated to the organization of Private Equity Club Deals on Italian SMEs. In 2021 QCapital acquired a minority stake of Venpa S.p.A., the leading Italian operator in the aerial platform rental sector. The targets of the deals organized by QCapital are Italian companies with excellent market positioning and significant growth opportunities, in sectors with good profitability and positive long-term trends. QCapital's Partners have a successful multi-year track record in Private Equity, as investors, as well as strategic, M&A and legal advisors.

BIC Capital.

It was founded in 2021 as a consulting company dedicated to the support of a select group of investors in the execution of international Club Deals, promoted by the former Permira Nicola Volpi, Carlos Mallo, Francesco De Mojana and Antonio Zaccheo. The BIC network boasts unique skills and includes CEOs, entrepreneurs or former partners of private equity funds at an international level, who are able to understand the business logic and growth drivers with the ultimate goal of supporting companies in the achievement of their own goals. BIC Capital was recently involved in the acquisition of Bomaki, a leading operator in the foodservice world whose cuisine "unites different worlds" and Nashi Argan, a cosmetic brand produced by Landoll, a company specializing in the research and production of professional products for hair and skin.