“Yes, it is true, we are often called upon to do work that goes beyond the strictly legal sphere; indeed, let’s say, that sometimes I would like to have a psychologist by my side … ». Riccardo Manfrini, born in 1964, undoes his tie while sitting on an armchair in the meeting room. We are in Treviso, on the ground floor of the elegant building that houses the headquarters of the «BM&A» law firm. Manfrini, an expert in mergers and acquisitions, has been working here since 1999 and, as a partner, is one of the first to have supported the founders Bruno Barel, Massimo Malvestio, Antonella Lillo and Guido Masutti. “Psychologist,” he says. And it is not a case. Because today this lawyer, originally from Ferrara (where he graduated with honors), but who has been transplanted to the Veneto for years (“immigrant-grateful”, he defines himself) has carved out a very peculiar role for himself, which makes him be at the same time actor and privileged observer of a rapidly changing world. That is, that of the entrepreneurs of the Northeast, which is grappling, on the one hand, with a complex process of generational handover and, on the other, with the “assault” of large national and international funds. A jungle, in fact. From which, among other things, the “public” keeps well away …
Manfrini, you are now known to be a bit ‘the name of these small-medium enterprises. A role played almost alone. What does he do?
«I would like to say this, in the meantime. That I come from Emilia, a red land, where there is and was a mentality for which the entrepreneur who runs with the big car is seen as an enemy. Where there is an underground blame. Over the years working in Veneto I have experienced a completely different reality. It is the story of people often born in misery, who then came to success, bringing wellbeing and work to an entire territory. And who never thought that the important thing was just to get rich, but instead to create something that was their life in a more general sense. These corporate realities are like those glass balls with snow in them. A small closed world, where principles are shared across the board from the warehouse worker to the apprentice. And where “boss” and employees all give themselves to you. Here, it is precisely this world that today is facing the great challenges mentioned above. And it is on this frontier that I have been working for years, looking for solutions to preserve them ».
Today, in the Northeast, only in 12% of cases do companies reach the third generation intact. There is a problem …
“The point is that there is always a choice. Many entrepreneurs had engineered their children to become their heirs, but then suddenly they discover that this desire can no longer be fulfilled. Maybe they had sent them to study abroad and then they, the children, stayed there, they became a family. Or they simply have not proved up to par. Still other times we arrive at the third generation with 20, 21 grandchildren and then when you go to the board of directors or decide who to put in key positions, a fragmentation that is impossible to manage is created. This is where the time comes to choose: keep the company within the family perimeter or find other solutions ».
The point is that we often talk about unique realities, which make them extremely attractive to large investors. How to safeguard them (and more generally safeguard the entire ecosystem)?
“There are companies in this area that, due to their characteristics, know how and quality have gained positions at the top of the world. We continually receive requests from large funds to acquire them, because a certain way of working, understood as capacity and as a work culture, is found only here. But many entrepreneurs do not give up, they want to reach the last point to decide. So much so that now the difficulty is not finding the resources to acquire companies, but finding those who sell them. I constantly experience the suffering, the suffering of these families. I had the experience of an elderly entrepreneur who just couldn’t make it, for him selling the company to a foreigner was like leaving his firstborn in an orphanage. He told me: I don’t care about money, if I don’t hear the keys of the company in my pocket, I can’t do it ».
Exactly, what is the recipe then?
«I believe that the knot is to make two souls coexist. The investor needs to guarantee a certain period of time in which the business continuity continues. If the funds work well, they don’t come here with a heavy hand. The entrepreneur, on the other hand, wants to make sure that the workforce is maintained or that the wealth is not taken away. And this is a value that still matters a lot. I have seen cases where a 100% takeover operation was skipped because the old entrepreneur didn’t like the businness plan of the buyer. The key is precisely to preserve identity. If this works, the transition is virtuous. I recently witnessed the purchase by a large group of a company run by three brothers who are all over 75 years old. In the agreement it was agreed that the three should remain within the company with a percentage of around 20% and for at least 5 years. Things went well ».
Why isn’t the public at this crucial stage?
«It would be easy to indulge in indifference. The point is that there is no politics. We never see anyone from the Region or the Municipality, these entrepreneurs are alone and live alone. It is not a criticism, it is a fact. The local banks offered a great help while they were there, but then that’s enough. Here, if there is today a diagnostic, a functional tool, those have them precisely the funds. Indeed, the advisors a profession that is Mecca. They are the real players of the game, who study the territory. They scan financial statements, inquiries, listen and profile. Then they come here and propose investors to acquire you ».
But what are the new generations of Northeast entrepreneurs like?
“In 2000 we had a 50/60 year old generation which was precisely the one born after the war. They are the ones who never gave up and who today reach 80 years of age with the problems mentioned above. It’s different now. The 60-year-olds of 2021 look at the horizon differently. The mentality is much more similar to that of the Americans or the Germans, so at a certain age of detachment and that’s it. And you enjoy what you have collected. Right now I am assisting an entrepreneur who is my age and who made it clear to me right away that his two sons are unable to run his company, which has 700 employees, a factory in China and one in the United States. So he is already negotiating the sale to a Swiss group. The time bar has changed, now the awareness of giving continuity to the company matures first. There is a generation, that of the various Bruno Vianello (Texa), Fabio Franceschi (Grafica Veneta), Maurizio Bazzo (Inglass) who do not know that they will not be able to postpone the choice. And they will not postpone it ».
June 28, 2021 (change June 28, 2021 | 00:19)
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