Italian packaging and automation machinery group IMA Group has signed an agreement to sell ATOP to Austrian private equity investor Lichtenberg Capital, as the company reshapes its industrial automation portfolio.
The Sale and Purchase Agreement was signed in July 2026. Completion remains subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval.
IMA Group, founded in 1993 and headquartered in Florence, designs and manufactures automatic machinery used in the processing and packaging of pharmaceutical products, medical devices, food and consumer goods. Its activities also extend into wider industrial automation.
The group acquired a majority stake in ATOP in 2019. ATOP specialises in machinery and fully automated production lines used to manufacture stators and rotors for electric motors.
The business therefore operates primarily within industrial automation and the automotive and e-mobility supply chain, rather than IMA Group’s core food and consumer-goods packaging operations.
Lichtenberg Capital is an Austrian private equity investor focused on supporting medium-sized businesses undergoing periods of transition.
DC Advisory acted as sole financial adviser to IMA Group on the transaction. Its work included supporting the sale process strategy, bid management, transaction presentations and coordination of due diligence advisers.
The deal represents a corporate carve-out for IMA Group and transfers ATOP to an investor focused on businesses in transitional situations.
For the wider packaging and processing machinery sector, the transaction is notable because IMA Group remains an important supplier of automated equipment across food, consumer goods, pharmaceutical and other manufacturing markets.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed in the announcement.
Completion of the IMA Group ATOP sale will depend on the remaining closing requirements and receipt of the necessary regulatory approval.
