ATOP, a company among the world leaders in automatic lines for the production of electric motors for various industrial applications (household appliances, tools) and for the automotive sector, including electric motors for traction, has been acquired by Charme Fund and IMA Group, with reinvestment from the founding partners. Charme III, a pan-European private equity fund, in partnership with IMA, a world leader in the design and manufacture of automatic machines for the processing and packaging of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, tea, and coffee, acquired an 84 percent stake in ATOP, while ATOP's founding partners re-invested in a 16 percent stake.

ATOP was assisted by K Finance as financial advisor, Deloitte and Studio Legale Gattai Minoli Agostinelli & Partners. IMA and Charme were supported by Poggi & Associati, Legance - Avvocati Associati, Alix Partners and Ernst & Young. UniCredit, on the other hand, handled the financing of the acquisition.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Barberino Val D'Elsa (Florence), ATOP is among the world's leading companies in the manufacture of innovative machinery and automatic lines for the production of stators and rotors for electric motors. Thanks to a well-established proprietary know-how, combined with the continuous search for innovative technological solutions, ATOP operates in the fields of electric traction for sustainable mobility (e-mobility), as well as in the automotive, household appliances and power tools sectors. ATOP has recorded growth rates in excess of 10 percent over the past 3 years, closing 2016 with revenues of approximately Euro 48 million and more than 180 employees.

Founded in 1961, IMA is a world leader in the design and manufacture of automatic machines for the processing and packaging of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, tea and coffee. The Group employs more than 5,100 people, including more than 2,600 overseas, and has 38 manufacturing plants. IMA S.p.A. has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1995 and has been in the STAR segment since 2001.

Charme Capital Partners SGR S.p.A. is the Management Company of Charme Funds, Closed-Ended Securities Funds under Italian law founded in 2003 by the Montezemolo Family. It invests on a European level from its offices in Milan, London and Madrid in companies of excellence that are leaders in their sectors with a value of between 100 and 500 million euros.