The sale represents the completion of a transaction worth c. €175m in which MPS sold a portfolio of private equity related investments to Coller Capital. The transaction is in line with the Group’s strategy of de-risking its balance sheet and reducing its non-core assets. The portfolio of investments includes the Group’s participations in all the MPS sponsored funds managed by the SGR (MPVenture 2, MPVenture Sud, MPVenture Sud 2, Siena Venture and Emilia Venture) as well as participations in third party private equity funds such as Clessidra I, Emerald, BTG Pactual and Tata Capital Growth Fund. The acquisition by Coller Capital also includes the Group’s participation in MPVenture SGR.
The main underlying companies in the portfolio acquired by Coller Capital are active in sectors including mobile commerce, manufacturing and distribution of ultrasound devices, facility management services, medical imaging and laboratory diagnostic services, and business process outsourcing. Coller Capital’s acquisition of MP Venture SGR from MPS and from its two other shareholders, Intermonte SIM and La Centrale Finanziaria, provides independence and stability for SGR’s management team and to the administration of the current portfolio of companies.
The investment agreement between Coller Capital and MPS shows innovation in the Italian market, as this is the first time a major Italian banking group has completed this type of transaction with a major international private equity investor in the secondaries market. The transaction has received all the relevant approvals from the Bank of Italy.
