Private equity deal news and insights from the London newsroom

Oaktree generates buzz in Italy with Banca Progetto sale; Alantra in technical fabrics deal; Celebrating 25 years of bisexual awareness

Good morning,

It’s Nina Lindholm with the Europe edition of the Wire from the London newsroom.

Italian financial sector is in focus this morning as we delve into Oaktree Capital Management’s sale of Italian bank Banca Progetto – a transaction Oaktree describes as “relatively rare.” We have the price tag for you on that one.

We then move over to technical fabrics, as Alantra Private Equity has acquired a controlling stake in a Spanish manufacturer of fabrics for sportswear, swimwear, workwear and healthcare applications.

To celebrate Bisexual Visibility Day, I’ll highlight a story from our Pride Month series, featuring Hamilton Lane’s Ada Pospi.

Broadening scope

Oaktree Capital Management’s agreed sale of Italian bank Banca Progetto has generated a “lot of interest” in Italy’s financial sector due to the infrequency of such deals and the number of banks that followed Banca Progetto’s business model, Mario Adario, managing director at Oaktree, told PE Hub’s Irien Joseph.

You can find out more, including the price tag, in the premium version of the Wire here.

I highly recommend reading Irien’s full story as it covers how Oaktree grew Banca Progetto’s balance sheet during the ownership period. You can find the piece here.

Technification

For our next deal, we’re stepping away from financial services but staying in Southern Europe. Alantra Private Equity has acquired a majority stake in SPW Fabrics, a Spanish manufacturer of technical fabrics for sportswear, swimwear, workwear and healthcare applications.

For more on the deal, check out the full Wire coverage here.

Bi visibility

Before I sign off, let’s take a moment to celebrate Bisexual Visibility Day. This year marks 25 years since the first celebration of Bi Visibility Day in 1999. The day is an opportunity to celebrate bisexuals and learn about bisexual erasure.

For two years now, PE Hub has run a series to celebrate Pride Month in June. As part of the series, I caught up with Ada Pospi, an associate on the secondaries investment team at Hamilton Lane, based in the firm’s London office.

You can read the full interview here. It covers Pospi’s thoughts on allyship and talent retention.

There's also more in the premium version of the Wire here.

You can also check out this year’s Pride Month interviews through these links:

That’s all from me this morning. MK Flynn will write to you later with the US edition and I’ll be with you again tomorrow with the Europe edition.

Cheers,

Nina

Read the full Wire commentary on PE Hub ...

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“Transactions in Italy’s financial sector are still relatively rare, although the ongoing consolidation process that began years ago – and the efforts of banks and other financial intermediaries to broaden their scope – does see some done.”

— Mario Adario, managing director, Oaktree Capital Management

Today's letter was prepared by Nina Lindholm

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