London, Singapore, Paris, Baku, Madrid... Their carpets are spread all over the world and in the most select places imaginable. But since this summer, the fabrics of the Portuguese manufacturer Ferreira de Sá have a Spanish accent. The Sherpa Capital investment fund has closed the acquisition of a majority stake in this family-owned company, according to sources in the financial sector.
Although the magnitude of the operation has not transcended, Ferrerira de Sá has a turnover of more than 20 million, with an operating margin of more than 20%. Founded in 1946 by the family that gives the company its name, it is currently led by the third generation, which will continue to be linked to the management and as a minority partner of the venture capital fund founded by Eduardo Navarro.
This is Sherpa Capital's first investment outside the Spanish market and also in a company with a clear international vocation, as nearly 80% of its business is outside Portugal, usually as a manufacturer for third parties (private label) of Italian and French luxury firms specializing in the production of custom carpets for the furniture and decoration sector.
From the outskirts of Oporto, the plans for Ferreira de Sá go through an expansion project within the European market. Unlike other competitors, especially Nordic ones, it has state-of-the-art facilities with the capacity to take on more production and its artisan process (labour) is more competitive, which may allow it to consolidate its market share.
According to the philosophy of the third fund (for which it raised 150 million last year), this operation represents the prototype of companies to be invested: majority participation, profitable and expanding companies, small-medium size with ebitda of up to five million and with sectorial concentration options. And given the price competition in Spain, the same is not the last one in Portugal.