NatWest Equity Partners Acquires Util of Turin in MBI

The buy-in of Sogepas/Util of Turin is the most recent investment in Italy by NatWest Equity Partners (NWEP), which next year plans to raise its first LP fund for buyouts in Western Europe (story, page 10).

NWEP backed Franco De Gennaro, the former managing director of DEA who previously was general manager of Sandretto Industrie, to acquire the group, which is a leading European manufacturer of brake shoes and backing plates for automotive braking systems.

Sogepas comprises two Italian operating companies, Util and Ostaf, and Util Automotive of the US. Headquartered near Turin, the group has a turnover of L70 billion (ecu 36 million). The company was acquired from a group of institutional investors, including Investitori Associati, Banca Commerciale Italiana, Istituto Bancario S. Paolo di Torino and UBS Capital, who backed a L45 billion buyout of the group in 1993.

NWEP invested L14.5 billion for a 78.5% stake in the Util Group; Mediocredito Lombardo, which also provided debt for the transaction, underwrote the remaining share capital alongside Franco De Gennaro. This transaction takes the total invested in Italy by NWEP, which opened its Italian operation in 1996, to L55 billion.