Italian private equity firm Clessidra sgr is to stop fundraising for its third fund at a maximum of 600-700 million euros, rather lower than the original target at 1.1 billion euros. MF Milano Finanza writes today.
Decision has been made by Clessidra’s top managment after the managing company’s founder Claudio Sposito had passed away last January even if a new governance for the company was reorganized in a speed time: Francesco Trapani and Maurizio Bottinelli have been appointed chairman and new ceo, respectively. Mr. Trapani had been Clessidra’s vice executive chairman and operating partner previously while Mr. Bottinelli had been chief of the investment team (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
The private equity firm has an enviable track record for its first two funds Clessidra Capital Partners I (820 million euros) and CCPII (1.1 billions) and it is still in fundraising for its third fund. However as the most important among its key men passed away it is rather difficult to go on in the fundraising among international investors and a new ranking among the reidual key men is now to be designed and proposed to the actual fund subscribers.
The situation is made more difficult due to the fact that Mr. Sposito’s widow is in talks with Mr. Trapani in order to sell him her majority stake in the management company. However talks are on hold and an agreement does not seem to be easy to reach, Corriere della Sera wrote last March 1st. Finally, operative partner Ugo Belardi is said to be leaving the company soon, MF Milano Finanza writes.
All the above means that situation is rather complicated at Clessidra now so it is not a surprise if somebody on the market started to imagine an agreement with an other private equity firm for Clessidra.
