What we look for
An established, founder-led Italian business serving other businesses.
Learn more →By the numbers
From the memorandum
- 5,739 companies assessed before raising the first euro.
- One in four leaders of family businesses is over 70.
- 69% of Italian search fund acquisitions are driven by succession.
- We look for businesses that are already doing well. To make them even better.
Traditional search fund
Italy
The searcher
My background
Learn more →For business owners
Before you decide, get to know who will lead your company.
Learn more →Contact
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What we look for
Black Pebble Capital is a traditional search fund with a clear goal: to acquire an established Italian B2B company and lead it personally for the long term.
Two sectors, one approach
We focus on makers of components, equipment, materials and ingredients, and providers of technical services such as maintenance, inspection, testing and certification.
We look for sound operations that do not depend entirely on the founder, with commercial potential still to unlock.
The company
- Revenue
- €5-25m
- EBITDA
- €1-4m, margin ≥15%
- Net debt
- ≤2× EBITDA; ideally net cash positive
- Revenue quality
- Loyal customers and repeat purchases
- Team
- A technical leader who ensures operational continuity
- Geography
- Italy, with priority on the North and Centre-North
Three criteria
- The business: repeat revenue, a growing market, strong cash generation, low capital needs, pricing power and independence from the founder.
- The owner: integrity, clear reasons for selling and a willingness to manage the handover.
- Growth opportunities: pricing, key accounts, sales processes, exports, data and AI where returns can be measured. Add-on acquisitions when the business is ready.
What we will not buy
Software businesses exposed to AI replacement, retail, capital-intensive process industries, and companies heavily reliant on public tenders or incentives.
My background
I want to acquire and lead a business for the long term.
My journey
- Fifteen years in marketing, sales and digital leadership at international consumer and e-commerce companies across five European markets.
- As Marketing Director for Italy at a multinational consumer-goods company, I led an 11-person team, the brand portfolio, budget and net-sales targets. I later took charge of a 12-person sales team.
- In 2024 I left corporate life to build something of my own. I designed and brought a card game to market; its first run of 3,000 units sold out.
- I then invested my own money in an Italian AI solutions integrator, joined its board and became Commercial Director.
- In 2025 I began an Executive MBA at a leading Italian business school to deepen my skills and network. Expected completion: March 2027.
Why
My father and I have always greeted each other with “vecchia roccia”, Italian for “old rock”. One day my son, then three, greeted me the same way. Since then, my children have been my little pebbles. That is where Black Pebble comes from.
Across Italy, thousands of founders who built excellent businesses are approaching the time to hand them over. Many have no successor ready.
I want to be the entrepreneur they can trust with what they have built: protecting its strengths and helping it enter a new phase of growth.
I want to acquire a business and lead it myself for the long term. For the work I want to do, and the future I want to build for my children.
What happens next for your company
- Continuity for customers, suppliers and the people who work in the business.
- Support for key people, with compelling reasons to stay.
- A mutually agreed handover, with an optional role for you during the transition.
- Gradual changes, explained and discussed openly.
- The option to retain a stake in the company.
- I will lead the company full-time, supported by a board of experienced investors.
Every conversation is confidential. Advisers, accountants and lawyers who work with business owners are welcome to get in touch.
Contact
Business owners
Tell me about your business and the future you envision for it. Every conversation is confidential.
Advisers
If you advise business owners considering succession, I would be glad to talk.
Investors
Email me to request the memorandum.
This website is for information only. Nothing here constitutes an offer of securities or a solicitation to invest.