Italian investment group Palladio, through its investment company Vei Capital, and Intesa Sanpaolo bank , through the merchant banking management of  its corporate and investment banking division,  have agreed to buy a stake in Rina spa, parent company of the Rina Group, Italy’s leading E-TIC (Engineering, Testing, Inspection, Certification) service provider.  Rina spa (download here the English press release).
An initial 25 million euros investment by Intesa Sanpaolo and Vei Capital, which will be underwritten by and shared equally between the two partners, maybe increased up to a possible 100 million euros on the strength of subsequent capital increases and backing for
acquisitions. So that Vei and Intesa might raise their stake till a 30 pct of Rina’s share capital.
Vei Capital and Intesa Sanpaolo are undertaking this investment project to help strengthen Rina’s position as a key world-class player in certification and consulting engineering, with a view to a possible stock exchange listing in the medium-term.
RIna spa was born from the old Registro Italiano Navale (Italian ship register) which has then been developing its services to many other sectors  from shipping to energy, transport and infrastructure, environment and innovation. Today, Rina is a multinational group specialized in classification, certification, testing, inspection, training and consulting engineering services It operates through companies dedicated to its specialist sectors. It has a network of 163 offices in 57 countries and over 2,500 employees. In 2013 Rina reached 320 million euros in revenures from 280 million in 2012.
Led by ceo Ugo Salerno, Rina grew a lot in the last few years. In 2011 it acquired D’Appolonia, a leading company in engineering consulting in Italy; in 2012 Rina acquired Simtex and Ismecert and few months ago it bought Centro Sviluppo Materiali. New financing from Intesa Sanpaolo and Veiwill be used manly for funding new acquisitions abroad, with a particular focus on Asia and South America.
Rina is now 100 pct owned by Registro Navale Italiano, a private foundation partecipated by Chambers of Commerce, shipowners, insurance, shipyards and other professionals. In three years’ time, if  Vei and Intesa have invested 100 million euros in equity, Registro Italiano Navale’s stake might shrink to 65-75 pct depending on what the top management will do with their convertible shares B.
