Shenzen-listed group Deren Electronic will acquire a 60% stake in the capital of Italy’s automotive electronics maker Meta System spa (see Reuters here and the press release in Chinese, which might be translated by Google translator).
Founded in 1973 in Reggio Emilia (Northern Italy), Meta System spa specializes in research, development and production of advanced electronic security system for the automotive, motorcycle and energy markets. Meta System collaborates with the world’s leading vehicle and motorcycle manufacturers, for whom they develop and produce a wide range of products and active/passive electronic security systems as well as next-generation comfort solutions.
Meta System spa is an operative company controlled by Meta Group, chaired by Germano Fanelli and led by ceo Giuseppe Simonazzi, which is the same group that some years ago sold to Charme fund  Octo Telematics, a developer of a fast growing range of specialist applications for insurance and transport companies to mitigate risks of fraud and to optimize fleet management. Charme in turn sold the company to Russia’s Renova last year (see here the press release).
Meta System spa is today controlled by Meta System Group with a 57%  through the holding company Meta-Fin spa, the remaing 43% being owned by Italian private equity funds Idea Efficienza Energetica managed by Idea Capital Funds sgr and Nem Sviluppo Imprese II managed by Nem sgr (see a previous post by BeBeez).
The agreement signed with Deren provides that Deren will buy a 60% stake in meta System spa for a total consideration of 56.82 million euro and that the Chinese group will buy the remaining 40% stake in 5 years. The company’s business plan see  revenues to grow from 2014’s 150 million euros (with 22 millions of ebitda), which were in line with 2013’s figures, to 400 millions in 2020, of which 150 millions in Asia. Simest, which is an Italian Government sponsored agency hekping companies to invest abroad, wil remain a shareholder of Meta System’s Chinese subsidiary Meta System Electronics Shenzen of which it owns a 28.3% stake (see the company structure in this Gazzetta di Reggio‘s article).
