MILAN — Borletti Group has taken over Italian beauty retailer Pinalli.

The independent investment firm founded by Maurizio Borletti and Paolo De Spirt — which has more than 20 years of experience investing in retail, premium and lifestyle brands such as La Rinascente and Printemps — has taken full control of the popular chain, which has more than 100 stores and generated around 200 million euros in revenues last year. According to industry sources, in 2025 Pinalli’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization stood at 25 million euros.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but the transaction was supported by J. Safra Sarasin asset management as anchor investor and was carried out through an investment vehicle promoted and led by Borletti Group and backed by a pool of co-investors, including the founding family, which retains a minority stake.

The shares were acquired from the Pinalli family and from private equity fund H.I.G. Capital, which had held a controlling stake in Pinalli since 2023.

Under the new ownership, Pinalli’s current management team is to retain their roles. Raffaele Rossetti, who has been serving as Pinalli’s chief executive officer since 2018, will lead the retailer’s next phase flanked by Borletti, who will assume the role of chairman of the company that currently employs more than 800 people.

The deal marks the first time Borletti Group has taken full control of a company, as past operations focused on acquisitions of minority stakes. It also marks the third operation of the group in the last 18 months, after investments in True Religion and Twinset at the end of 2024 and in June 2025, respectively.

Founded in 1984 in Fiorenzuola d’Arda, in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, Pinalli has developed a strong retail network, largely concentrated in the higher-income areas of Northern Italy. Its brick-and-mortar presence is complemented by a popular online store, which accounts for around 30 percent of total sales and records about 22 million visits a year.

Pinalli’s assortment encompasses 400 brands across the fragrance, skin care and makeup categories, which add to a fast-growing private label range. To be sure, the company reported a CAGR of more than 15 percent between 2022 and 2025.

Over the coming years, the company aims to accelerate its growth by expanding its distribution footprint; further developing its e-commerce channel; strengthening the private label offering, and broadening the product range.

“Pinalli is a company that has demonstrated strong growth capabilities and a clear drive for innovation, standing out for the quality of its brand, management team and omnichannel platform,” Borletti said. “Borletti Group will work alongside the management team to support Pinalli’s next phase of development, further strengthening its positioning in the Italian market and continuing to invest in network expansion, digital capabilities and the customer experience.”

“Pinalli’s entry into Borletti Group marks the beginning of a new chapter in our company’s history and gives us the opportunity to continue the journey we have built over recent years with even greater ambition,” Rossetti echoed. “We are doing so alongside an Italian group with a global standing, bringing deep retail expertise and a recognized track record in developing brands across international markets.”

Assisted in this operation by Houlihan Lokey for M&A advisory and by PwC for the financial due diligence, Borletti Group has been active since 2005, leading private equity acquisitions with an aggregate value of about 3 billion euros and participated in transactions totaling about 8 billion euros.

Counting offices in London and Luxembourg, the group has also supported brands such as MooRER, Moose Knuckles and Zimmermann, by providing capital and strategic expertise.