SRS Advogados advises ActiveCap Capital Partners on investment in Firmo / Staples

SRS Advogados advised ActiveCap Capital Partners on investment in Firmo within acquisition of Staples.

The team at SRS Advogados was led by Gustavo Ordonhas Oliveira (Partner, Private Equity & Venture Capital) and included Marco Garrinhas (Senior Associate) and a multidisciplinary group of lawyers in the legal due diligence on Firmo and drafting and negotiation of the investment agreements.

The investment by ActiveCap I – Portugal Growth Fund in Firmo involved the acquisition of a shareholding of 35% by capitalisation of Firmo for the purpose of supporting the acquisition by Firmo of the business of Staples in Portugal.

ActiveCap I – Portugal Growth Fund is a private equity fund dedicated to financing expansion and optimisation projects of Portuguese companies and supporting the growth potential and execution of international growth projects.

Firmo was founded in 1951 and has a factory in Vila Nova de Gaia and two cash & carry stores (in Lisbon and Oporto), exporting part of its production into 23 countries, as well as an e-commerce channel. The acquisition by Firmo of the business of Staples in Portugal, controlled by Cerberus since 2017, results in a Portuguese paper and office materials group with an annual turnover of approximately €100 million and close to 800 employees.