CYTECH ACQUIRES PASASPORT
[ssbp]The San Vendemiano based company and world’s leading manufacturer of pads and palms for cycling apparel under the Elastic Interface® brand has acquired a majority stake in Pasasport S.r.l., a leading
manufacturer of premium gloves and accessories.
San Vendemiano (Treviso, Italy) 2 nd December 2022 – With its celebrated brand Elastic Interface®, Cytech is the world’s leading manufacturer of sportswear padding specialising in pads for cycling shorts and palms for gloves.
Based in Villa Bartolomea, in the Italian province of Verona (VR), Pasasport specialises in the design and manufacture of cycling accessories (primarily gloves, shoe covers and others) and operates also in other sports segment. Made for leading brands, its gloves have protected the hands of fencing champions, F1 drivers, elite cyclists, skiers and horse riders. Over the years, Pasasport has built up a vast wealth of know-how and now operates in a variety of sectors from cycling and running to skiing and sailing, from outdoor to aerospace and gaming with three production plants in Italy, Tunisia and Romania.
Massimo Fregonese, Cytech CEO, “I am very pleased that Pasasport has joined the Cytech – Elastic Interface® Group because, in addition to the added value created by this acquisition, our two companies share a cultural and business affinity. When I first met Federica Pasato and Alberto Santinello, we immediately felt positive about the strategic vision and the opportunity to integrate the two companies. The acquisition of Pasasport strengthens and highlights the value of our market leadership; it enables us to offer our clients a wider range of services and products with greater added value. The business model, commercial and product development synergies, and complementary technological know-how all allows us to accelerate the expansion of Elastic Interface® into new markets and diversify our product offering in the cycling sector and across other sports and to strengthen our international presence with production plants on key continents. PM&Partners has played a fundamental role in this project, providing the considerable strategic, operational and financial support that has made the next important chapter possible in the story of Cytech-Elastic Interface®.”
A state-of-the-art, sustainable and hi-tech company, Cytech and its inventions have often changed how we think about cycling apparel; from the invention of the first elastic pad for cycling shorts and the introduction of the revolutionary EIT Palm technology, which paved the way for the creation of gloves with elastic, seamless, three dimensional palms, to the N3X pad, the first chamois made with 3D-printed padding (first revealed at the recent Eurobike Show). Cytech works with the world’s leading high-end cycling apparel brands, offering innovative, proprietary, cutting-edge solutions. More than 90 per cent of the company’s turnover is generated in foreign markets and its products are sold in over 40 countries worldwide.
Federica Pasato, Chair of the Pasasport Board of Directors, “I firmly believe that this collaboration with the Cytech Group is a fantastic opportunity to transform our successful family-run business into a well-established company on the international market. The value of the experience we have gained over the past fifty years can now be taken to the next level and incorporated into a new, more structured hub to deliver excellence and professionalism.”
Alberto Santinello, Pasasport Chief Executive Officer and designer, “I am proud that Cytech – Elastic Interface® has recognised and appreciated our know-how and our experience and decided to involve Pasasport in its expansion project. The global market pushes us to tackle new challenges, but our team has the creativity, Italian design talent, and ingenuity, for which we are renowned, to triumph every time.”
The private equity firm PM&Partners SGR acquired a majority stake in Cytech in 2021 and together they have embarked on an ambitious development plan that also includes a growth strategy for external lines. The first milestone in this plan was reached today with the acquisition of Pasasport S.r.l., which was founded by the Pasato family in 1973.