H.I.G. Capital, an international investment fund with $64 billion of capital under management, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company DGS S.p.A. has completed the acquisition of Ariadne Group S.r.l.

Ariadne was assisted by EQUITA Mid Cap Advisory, part of EQUITA Group, exclusive member for Italy of Clairfield International, and by the firm PedersoliGattai. H.I.G. and DGS were assisted in the transaction by Spada Partners and Eversheds Sutherland.

Vincenzo Fiengo, Co-CEO of DGS, commented: "With the acquisition of Ariadne, the DGS Group becomes the largest system integrator in Italy specialised in the Open-Source Liferay technology. The acquisition strengthens DGS's strategic partnership with leading players in the sector, and expands its offer with fast-growing technologies of strategic importance in the ICT world such as Moodle.” 

Marcello Ricotti, Marcello Torriani and Giuseppe De Donno, founders of Ariadne, added: "We are thrilled to join a dynamic and fast growing group like DGS. This partnership will strengthen the Group's presence in the world of Digital Transformation & Communication, with complementary offerings and important cross-selling opportunities with the other companies of the DGS Group.”

Raffaele Legnani, Managing Director of H.I.G. Capital in Italy, concluded: "With the entry of Ariadne into the Group, DGS strengthens its position in the market as one of the Italian leaders in the ICT sector.”

Ariadne, based in Pavia, is a leading company in the Italian Information Technology market, specialising in system integration and digital communication services. The Company's services are based on Open-Source collaboration platforms, a fast growing segment of strategic importance in the ICT sector in Italy. The Company's broad offering, which ranges from the development of complex B2B/B2C portals, to intranet and digital workplace solutions and from e-learning systems to digital marketing services, is aimed at a blue-chip client base operating mainly in the financial services, fashion & luxury, publishing and education sectors.

Based in Rome, DGS has been operating for over 25 years in the ICT services market for public and private enterprises. The company specialises in offering digital solutions for business process transformation (including application system integration projects and proprietary applications), cybersecurity services and management consulting. DGS supports leading clients in their respective fields, guaranteeing high technical standards thanks to its large staff of more than 1,900 employees with 2,500 technical certifications and long-lasting partnerships with leading global software and application vendors. 

H.I.G. Capital is a leading international private equity and alternative assets investment fund with $64 billion of capital under management*. Based in Miami and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Bogota, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in the US and Latin America, it has a presence in Dubai and in Europe with offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris and Milan, with a team led by Managing Director Raffaele Legnani. H.I.G. Capital specialises in providing capital and financing to small and medium-sized enterprises with a flexible, industrial and value-creating approach.

Since its foundation in 1993, H.I.G. Capital has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with a total turnover of more than €53 billion.