A Singapore sovereign wealth fund will invest about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars into the share capital of Italian holding company Sintonia, the Italian company said.
Sintonia SA, one of the Benetton family's two holding companies, said in a statement Tuesday it has signed an agreement with an investment vehicle directed by the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., or GIC.
GIC's private equity unit, GIC Special Investments Pte. Ltd., will acquire a 3 percent stake in Sintonia SA, based in Luxembourg, from Sintonia SpA -- the Milan-based Benetton-owned company that is the largest holder of Sintonia SA, Sintonia said.
GIC will also subscribe to a capital increase in the company that will raise its stake to about 14.3 percent, the statement said. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2008, it said.
Market observers said it's the first time a sovereign wealth fund has invested in a large Italian company. The European Union is discussing a voluntary code of conduct for government investment funds because of concerns about transparency.
Sintonia, whose other investors include Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Italian merchant bank Mediobanca SpA, has investments in Italian highway operator Atlantia SpA and the country's largest telecoms operator, Telecom Italia SpA.
Sintonia also owns a 95.7 percent stake in Rome airport operator Aeroporti di Roma through a holding company called Gemina.
Source: Xinhua/Agencies
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