Italian Angels for Growth (IAG), the leading Network-Powered Venture Capital investor in Italy, announces the sale of the shares held by its shareholders in Ultroneo Spa to Sisfin Partecipazioni e Investimenti Srl, the financial holding company of Sistemi SpA.
In fact, an agreement between Sistemi SpA and Ultroneo Srl to purchase 25 percent of the latter's shares was finalized in recent days.
IAG and Ultroneo's journey began in 2016, when Italy's leading business angel group sensed the potential of the startup, which was born as a spin-off from the University of Udine and creator of GetYourBill, a platform that allows invoices to be issued and stored without requiring the buyer to enter master data, recognizing it by VAT number.
After an initial investment that boosted Ultroneo's projects, the relationship between the two has intensified over the past six years, especially during difficult times such as the lockdown triggered by the pandemic. Carlo Asquini, IAG Champion in this investment, comments, "Our greatest satisfaction as business angels is to have believed in a good team that was able to pick up signals from the market to refine the business model originally envisioned. Difficult periods were faced and overcome in a serene manner thanks to the trust between the parties, which became solid friendship over time."
Through participation in several rounds as an investor, introduction to additional investors, and commercial introduction to companies operating in the retail sector, in fact, IAG has played a primary role in the growth of Ultroneo, which has become a successful company targeting 2 million in annual sales and among leading players in the retail automation sector.
Gian Bruno Mazzi, along with Carlo Asquini Champion IAG in this investment, explains the role he played in Ultroneo's success: "A Champion is responsible for maintaining relationships with the founders of a new initiative and reporting back to all the partners who invested in it on the startup's progress. But not only that: in Ultroneo's case, we helped identify the solution development strategy and potential partners for GetYourBill's development and growth. In fact, after the regulatory framework for electronic invoicing became clearer, the opportunities grew exponentially. Together, we embarked on a significant growth path by discussing all these new possibilities."
Today, with the sale of the shares to Sistemi SpA, this fruitful collaboration ends, which has led GetYourBill to manage 6 million documents each year, counting on more than 14,000 active merchants. Carlo Asquini comments with satisfaction, "With the sale of the shares our journey ends, pride remains for what we have built together. The human relationship and shared values between us and Ultroneo are tangible proof of how the success of a new business depends above all on the value of the people behind it."
Alvise Abu'-Khalil, Co-Founder of Ultroneo, says, "We thank IAG and the Champions who have supported us on this journey for believing in our ideas. Thanks to their support we have experienced exponential growth over the past five years. In addition to helping us develop the business from an entrepreneurial point of view, they have always been by our side in the most complicated moments. Now a new phase of development opens for us, based on the solid foundation laid during this time together."