One is born joint venture between the Italian Strategic Fund (FSI) and Qatar Holding. The subsidiary of Cassa depositi e prestiti and the company of the emirate have signed an agreement for the creation of "IQ Made in Italy Venture", endowed with an initial 300 million euros. The total capital will be able to arrive up to two billion and "will be paid equally by FSI and Qh during the first four years".
Iq Made in Italy Venture, explains Fsi, “will invest in Italian companies operating in some Made in Italy sectors: food and food distribution, fashion and luxury, furniture and design, tourism, lifestyle, leisure“. These are sectors “that represent Italian excellence, contribute significantly to exports and present various high quality companies, with significant potential for growth and international expansion”.
The joint venture “will invest in leading companies, creating value through various levers, including sectoral consolidation and transformation through growth, including internationally. By combining FSI's local knowledge with QH's global reach and industry knowledge, the Italian-Qatari joint venture will be able to provide companies with a unique set of skills, enhancing their growth processes."
Iq Made in Italy Venture will be managed by Fsi and Qh with a peer governance. The agreement, concludes the company controlled by the CDP, “was reached thanks to the excellent relations held on the occasion of the visit of Prime Minister Mario Monti to Qatar and it is one of the initiatives that belong to a framework of cooperation between Qatar and Italy”.
“This first agreement with major investors from the Gulf countries is of great importance for the entire CDP group – commented the president of the CDP, Franco Bassanini -, also because it will be able to favor the completion of other co-investment agreements both with the Italian strategic fund and with other instruments of the group. Furthermore, it strengthens CDP's position as a long-term market investor in international markets”.
“We are very satisfied with the agreement with a high quality partner – he underlined Giovanni Gorno Tempini, CEO of CDP and president of FSI -. The joint venture for Made in Italy demonstrates how some sectors of the Italian economy can be very attractive for those foreign investors who see the potential for growth, consolidation and international expansion".
"In addition to the significant firepower in terms of available capital - added the CEO of FSI, Maurizio Tamagnini – the joint venture brings together two partners with complementary skills. This combination can offer many Italian companies concrete opportunities for transformation and value creation". Furthermore, "the agreement confirms how, in the short time since its inception, FSI has become a very credible partner in the Italian private equity sector, also for large international investors such as Qatar Holding".
