He died at the age of 90 Bernard Caprotti, an entrepreneur known for having founded the large-scale retail chain Esselunga in 1957. Caprotti was born in Milan on October 7, 1925: he would therefore have turned 91 in a few days. Born into a family of textile industrialists, after completing his law studies he was sent by his father to the United States to practice in the cotton industry and textile mechanics.
In 1952, after his father's death, he finds himself managing the family business which from 1957 will take its current name, Esselunga, to which he dedicates himself full time starting from 1965. On 23 December 2013, at the age aged 88, resigns from all company positions, remaining however the majority shareholder. Just a few weeks ago he had indicated to the board that he was intending to sell the group: the Supermaket Italiani board of directors had therefore appointed the advisor, Citigroup, which will evaluate the non-binding offers arrived from some private equity to take over the famous chain.
Several groups are involved, in particular two funds: Blackstone and the Anglo-Saxon CVC, but also the US Wal-Mart, the first supermarket in the world. The valuation would fluctuate between 4 and 6 billion, but some say even more.
