23
December
2002
|
00:00
Europe/Amsterdam

Pirelli sells its activities in enamelled wires

  • PIRELLI SELLS TO INVESTITORI ASSOCIATI ITS ACTIVITIES IN ENAMELLED AND TRANSPOSED WIRES
     
  • RATIONALIZATION IN ENERGY CABLES AND SYSTEMS SECTOR GOES ON, FOCUSING ON HIGHER ADDED VALUE SEGMENTS
     
  • NET FINANCIAL POSITION IMPROVES BY 28 MILLION EUROS

Milan, 23rd December 2002 - Pirelli SpA, through Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi Energia SpA, and the private equity fund Investitori Associati III (Alfieri Associated Investors) today signed an agreement which envisages the acquisition by Investitori Associati of the production and commercial activities managed by Pirelli in the enamelled and transposed wires sector in Europe and China through the subsidiaries Invex and Icew Insulated Conductors, as well as the option for acquiring Brazilian activities valued using the shareholders' equity method within September 2004.

The operation is a management buy-out and is part of the rationalization plan announced last November for the Energy Cables and Systems sector, which envisages the focus on higher added value business segments.

According to the agreement, Pirelli sells its Invex plants in Quattordio (Alessandria - Italy) and Baoying (China) which, with about 350 employees and 2001 revenues of about 110 million euros, are specialized in the production of enamelled and transposed copper and aluminum wires for power generation applications.

Thanks to this operation, the net financial position of the Pirelli Group will improve by 28 million euros, compared with the Book Value of 32 million euros. The agreement also envisages the acquisition, within one year, of Pirelli Esmar commercial activities in Spain, for an amount of approximately 4 million euros.

The new Chairman of the company will be Angelo Venezia, member of the family who established Invex more than 50 years ago, while Ubaldo Brignone will be appointed Chief Executive Officer: both executives are former Pirelli manager and, consequently, they will guarantee no interruption in operations.

This transaction is the fourth investment performed in 2002 by the 400-million euros private equity fund Investitori Associati III, after those in Lottomatica, Galbani and PharmaLogistics, the eight since its inception in Autumn 2000.

The operation will be completed once approved by Antitrust Authorities.

The facilities were arranged by BNP Paribas Leveraged Finance and BNL and will be provided by BNP Paribas, BNL and Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria