Throughout his career, Gustavo Denegri has been defined by his flexibility. A chemist by academic formation, the Torino-based entrepreneur rose through the ranks to become president of Piaggio, a vehicle manufacturer that owns the iconic Vespa scooter brand. Denegri, though, left his mark as the lead investor in DiaSorin, a biotech firm that leads the in vitro diagnostics segment that he rescued through a buyout which ultimately has propelled Denegri and his family into the ranks of the world's billionaires. It’s not all business, though: the Denegris also invested their money to own and refurbish Torino’s oldest restaurant, Del Cambio.
The bulk of Denegri’s fortune is concentrated in DiaSorin, in which he owns a 43.96% stake through IP Investimenti E Partecipazioni, a holding company controlled by his family. Denegri built the stake in 2000, leading a management buyout of the troubled firm which at the time was controlled by American Standard Companies. The company started trading in the Italian stock market in 2007 and, after taking a big hit in 2012 due to the European sovereign debt crisis, has been on a tear. DiaSorin gained nearly 112% since bottoming out in early 2012 to January 2014, before taking a small tumble in the wake of their 2013 results.
DiaSorin has become a leader in the development, production, and manufacturing of reagent kits for in vitro diagnostics, a market valued at nearly $60 billion. Revenue hit $588 million last year, which resulted in EBITDA of $221 million (EBITDA margin stood at an impressive 37.6%). With over 1,600 employees, DiaSorin has a market capitalization of approximately $2.33 billion as of July 21.
Denegri, though, doesn’t seem like someone who would have made such a lucrative investment in the difficult world of pharma. While he studied chemistry in the 1960s, Denegri built a hugely successful automotive components firm named Gruppo Pro-Ind during the 70s. With revenues hitting $270 million by 1985, they merged with Gruppo Piaggio where Denegri became chairman and managing director. Piaggio owns brands like the world-famous Vespa, speed bike manufacturer Aprilia, and the eponymous Piaggio, which manufactures its characteristic three-wheel scooters. As turnover topped $1.2 billion in 1994, Denegri decided to leave, founding his own investment company Iniziativa Piemonte, the precursor to today’s wholly-owned holding and investment firm, IP Investimenti E Partecipazioni.
Through IP, Denegri has built a strong investment group with interests spread across various industries. From medical technology to real estate and even television production, IP is a diversified Italian private equity vehicle to channel the wealth of the Denegri family, with Gustavo’s son Michele and Enrico Amo running day-to-day operations. Taking into account their stake in DiaSorin, past dividend payments (and tax), Forbes calculates Gustavo Denegri and his family currently have a net worth of $1.1 billion.
The Denegris have gone even further than traditional investing, putting their own cash into preserving Torino’s gastronomic culture. In 2012, they paid $3.4 million for the nearly bankrupt Del Cambio, which was originally founded in 1757 and has served food to the likes of Nietzsche and Mozart. With Chef Matteo Baronetto in charge, and after an extensive renovation, Del Cambio is once again in business thanks to the Denegris.
With reporting by Arooba Khan
