SECO buys 60% of China's Qiyang for €9M, takes full control of Fannal
What's the deal? Italian edge-computing firm SECO has signed a binding agreement to acquire 60% of China's Zhejiang Qiyang Intelligent Technology for €9 million in cash, plus an earn-out of up to €3 million. In the same announcement, SECO agreed to buy the remaining 45% of touch-display maker Fannal Electronics for €23 million, lifting its stake to 100%.
Who are they? Qiyang makes standard and custom hardware for edge-computing applications; Fannal builds touch displays and human-machine-interface systems. SECO, listed on Euronext Milan, develops end-to-end edge and physical AI technology for industrial digitalisation.
Why now? SECO calls Asia-Pacific "increasingly important for the expansion of the Edge and Physical AI market." The deals deepen its local engineering, production, and customer reach in a region it has targeted since first investing in Fannal in 2019.
What's the endgame? "Qiyang is a strategic building block to accelerate our growth," said chief executive officer Massimo Mauri. He added that full integration of Fannal lets SECO "offer customers a comprehensive regional platform." SECO will also exercise a call option to buy SIMESTDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s 49% stake in SECO Asia for roughly €3.4 million, simplifying regional ownership.
By the numbers: Qiyang posted about €12 million in 2025 revenue with an adjusted EBITDA margin above 10%, and expects sales to grow around 50% in 2026. Fannal generated €27 million in 2025 revenue and €7.7 million adjusted EBITDA, though 41% of its sales were intra-group. The Fannal price implies a 2026 EV/EBITDA multiple of about 5.3x.
What could go wrong? The expansion comes against a softer backdrop. SECO's first-half 2026 sales were essentially flat year over year, and its adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 18.7% from 20%. Fannal's heavy intra-group sales also raise questions about how much external growth the business adds.
The signal: SECO is consolidating ownership of its Asian operations to compete in edge and physical AI, where market proximity and fast R&D cycles increasingly decide winners. Full control of long-held partners signals a shift from minority stakes toward owning the regional platform outright.
Read more: hk.marketscreener.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
