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SCOUTING CAPITAL & FAMILY ADVISORS ADVISES HYDEA ON ITS SALE TO PROTOS, A PORTFOLIO COMPANY OF H.I.G. CAPITAL
- Milan, 30 July 2026 – Hydea S.p.A. (“Hydea”), an Italian professional services company active in civil engineering, the protection and enhancement of cultural and archaeological heritage, infrastructure engineering, and environmental and circular economy consulting, announces the entry into its share capital of Protos S.p.A. (“Protos”), a Portfolio Company of H.I.G. Capital (“H.I.G.”), an international investment fund with $75 billion in assets under management.
- This acquisition represents a further step in the external growth strategy of Protos, strengthening the Advisory & Consulting Engineering division and broadening the Group’s expertise across the entire lifecycle of a project, from design to works supervision, project management and technical assistance. The transaction consolidates Protos’s positioning in the Real Estate and Infrastructure markets, enhancing its expertise in consulting for cultural heritage, the environment and the circular economy. The complementary nature of the two companies’ expertise, client portfolios and geographic presence opens up significant commercial synergies, strengthening the Group’s ability to manage complex assignments in Italy and abroad.
- Headquartered in Florence with offices in Beijing and Riyadh, Hydea is a leading Italian engineering and technical consulting company, founded in 1990. It operates in civil engineering, the protection of cultural and archaeological heritage, infrastructure engineering, and environmental and circular economy consulting, offering design, studies, project management, works supervision and technical consulting to public and private clients in Italy and abroad. With more than 70 professionals, it has completed more than 1,000 projects in over 100 countries, generating around half of its revenue abroad thanks to well-established relationships with leading clients and institutions.
- Protos is an Italian group, which has been active for forty years in Testing, Inspection & Certification (TIC) and Advisory & Consulting Engineering, with offices in Rome, Milan and Genoa. It supports public and private clients in Italy and abroad across markets such as Real Estate, Infrastructure, Energy & Power and Financial Institutions, through two divisions: Protos Check, dedicated to TIC services in accredited fields, and Protos Consulting, which offers technical and financial due diligence, engineering services, insurance, ESG and environmental risk consulting, expert appraisal activities, litigation support, and high value-added technology services such as data remediation and maintenance of large databases, supporting financial institutions, investors, asset managers, industrial operators, public and private clients, and insurance companies.
- Since 2025, Protos has been backed by H.I.G. Capital, which has launched a growth project to strengthen its position as a leading player in TIC services and technical consulting.
- H.I.G. is one of the leading international private equity and alternative assets funds, with $75 billion in assets under management. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Miami, it has a presence in the United States, Latin America, Dubai, Hong Kong and several European cities, including Milan, with a team led by Managing Director Raffaele Legnani. Its portfolio comprises more than 100 companies, with combined revenues of over $53 billion.
- In the transaction, the shareholders of Hydea were advised by Scouting Capital Advisors as financial advisor, with a team comprising Managing Partner Davide Milano, Associate Director Eleonora Preto and Analyst Luca Cerrato. LCA studio legale advised on the legal aspects of the transaction.
- H.I.G. and Protos were advised by Pavia e Ansaldo and Spada Partners, respectively for legal and financial/tax aspects.
- The financing for the transaction was provided by Capza and the legal advisors involved in financing the transaction were ADVANT Nctm for the borrower and Orrick for the lenders.
