Intesa Sanpaolo has finalized the spin off of its private equity activies following the bank’s decisions announced in its 2014-2017 business plan aiming at refocus on its core business (see a previous post by BeBeez). So the bank teamed up with US asset manager Neuberger Berman to create a jointly owned 600 million euros private equity fund and announced the management team of the new fund a few days ago (see here the press release).
Marco Cerrina Feroni and Fabio Canè, who previously led Intesa Sanpaolo’s merchant banking and private equity operations, and several members of their team, have joined Neuberger Berman together with Stefano Bontempelli, a former managing director at Neuberger Berman’s European private equity business who has rejoined the firm. The three senior partners and their team will continue to be based in Milan and they will be part of the global Private Equity Division headed by Anthony Tutrone.
The team will manage the new fund called NB Reinassance Partners, that will start activity with 500 million euros of portfolio assets and cash brought by Intesa Sanpaolo and Neuberger Berman, while other 100 million euros in new cash will be raised from other investors.
Neuberger Berman will bring the new fund private equity funds stakes it has previously acquired from Intesa Sanpaolo valued about 100 million euros (such as the ones in funds by Clessidra, Cinven, Apax, Carlyle and Apollo) and will invest 100 million euros more in equity e investendo un altro centinaio di milioni in cash.
On the other hand Intesa will transfer to the fund a majority stake of a newco to which a portfolio of stakes in some Italian companies for a total value of about 250 million euros will have been trasferred. Among stakes to be transferred to the fund are said to be the ones Fila, Stroili Oro (if the company is not sold in the next few days), Guala, Yamamay, Esaote, Pavan, Novamont and Rina.
