Industry focus: Manufacturing in Italy
DLA Piper
DLA Piper's industry focus group is coordinated by Alessandro Piermanni, who acts for Italian and multinational manufacturers, including Italmobiliare and General Electric. The team, which was recently strengthened by a number of new arrivals at associate level, covers corporate, antitrust, tax, labour, real estate and IP. Piermanni has particular expertise in M&A, joint venture and private equity transactions. In 2018, the team assisted Unilever with the acquisition of a 75% stake in Italian personal care products Equilibra.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Sampsistemi
Alfanar Group
Ariston Thermo
Carlo Colombo
Comecer
Compugroup Medical
FAAC Group
Finproject
Gea Group
General Electric
Igm Resins
Maccaferri Group
Recomec
Solvay
Stiga
Italmobiliare
Unilever
Kerakoll
Cantel Medical
HeidelbergCement
Italcementi
S2R Group
Condotte
Feralpi Holding
SPM
Audi
Work highlights
- Assisting Sampsistemi with the acquisition of the entire corporate capital of three French companies.
- Advising the Zanelli family and private equity fund Principia SGR on the sale of Comecer in a deal worth €113m.
- Acting for SPM, a manufacturer and distributor of ski poles, in a patent dispute regarding the Featherbase pole with one of its main competitors.
Gianni & Origoni
Gianni & Origoni has established itself as a key name in the manufacturing space and its client roster includes Italian and multinational clients. The cross-practice group has expertise handling patent infringement, M&A, finance, labour and tax law for manufacturing clients. Recent highlights include Francesco Gianni assisting Barnes Group with the €370m acquisition of Gimatic, and Andrea Marani advising eyewear group Safilo on its share capital increase of up to €150m.
Key clients
Barnes Group
Hitachi
Safilo
Bottero
Chequers Capital
Marcegaglia Steel
Hoval
Beghelli
ACO Holding
Somec
Vimi Fasteners
Radici Pietro Industries & Brands
Banca Finnat Euramerica
Alfa Acciai
Innova Group
Sellmat
Sugherificio Ganau
Work highlights
- Assisting Hitachi with the acquisition of a 31.79% stake in Ansaldo in a deal worth €1.25bn.
- Assisting Bottero with preliminary proceedings before the Court of Ancona concerning the infringement of patents in the area of glass double-edging technology.
- Advised on Beghelli’s €14m sale of Beghelli Canada.
Bird & Bird
Bird & Bird's a manufacturing team provides the full range of advice for a number of high-calibre clients. Team head Stefano Silvestri, who divides his time between Milan and San Francisco and has considerable expertise handling cross-border deals, advised US company TriMas on its acquisition of Plastic in a €27m deal. Alberto Salvadè specialises in M&A, takeovers and capital markets law, while Simone Caddedu acts for clients, including Smiths Detection, on administrative law matters. Other clients include companies in the aerospace, defence and security, technology and home appliance areas.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Smiths Detection Italia
IK Investments Partners
Pentair
Metalbeton
La Termoplastic FBM
Laika Caravans
Widex
Work highlights
- Assisting Smiths Detection Italia with several tenders launched by Italian airports for the award of contracts for the supply and maintenance of x-ray machines for hold baggage checks.
- Advising on a leading packaging company’s due diligence process relating to the acquisition of another company in the area.
- Advising Metalbeton on the acquisition of the entire share capital of Faserbeton.
BonelliErede
BonelliErede's corporate and commercial contracts practice assists clients in the manufacturing industry. Key names in this space include Umberto Nicodano, who specialises in corporate governance and M&A, and Eliana Catalano, who is an expert in private equity, joint ventures and commercial agreements.
Chiomenti
Commended for its 'deep knowledge' and 'business-oriented' attitude, the industrial manufacturing team at Chiomenti is known primarily for its advice on production and distribution processes, and tax matters. Team head Luca Andrea Frignani, who also heads the firm's London office, assists Italian and international clients primarily with corporate M&A and financing matters. Luigi Vaccaro is noted for his 'competence and experience', and Mario Pelli Cattaneo is another key name.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘Business-oriented, experienced and able to match the company’s needs in terms of deadlines.’
‘It has a deep knowledge of the background of our business alongside a strong attitude to assist the client with a 360° approach.’
‘Luigi Vaccaro has experience and the ability to grasp the essential points to work on.’
‘Luca Frignani has a great capacity to maintain leadership and accountability vis-à-vis the client, and he is able to give fruitful support.’
Key clients
Naval Group
Grandland Holdings
Ansaldo
Astaldi
Avio
Gavio Group
Investindustrial
Italdesign
Evoca
Pirelli
Work highlights
- Advising Grandland Holdings on the structuring and negotiation of an agreement for the acquisition by the Grandland Group of 100% of the share capital of Permasteelisa.
- Acting for Toyota Motor Italia in its appeal before the Italian Competition Authority.
- Advising Naval Group on a joint venture with Fincantieri.
Pavia e Ansaldo
Pavia e Ansaldo's manufacturing team acts for clients involved in a diverse range of areas including food processing, thermal hydraulics and ceramics. Its workload in the manufacturing space is dominated by high-value transactions. Sven von Mensenkampff, whose dual-qualification allows him to provide multi-jurisdictional advice to German companies, acted for technology giant Bosch on the sale of two major (German and Italian, respectively) manufacturing business arms. Practice head Stefano Bianchi advises manufacturers and private equity funds. Meritxell Roca Ortega, who is also qualified in Spain, is another key name.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘Excellent flexibility and competence to highlight possible gaps and hidden risks.‘
‘The firm focuses on business solutions, with a low-key approach suitable for negotiations between larger and smaller entities, and is very savvy to intercultural differences.‘
‘Sven von Mensenkampff is distinguished by his knowledge, commercial approach, speed, reliability, very high personal responsiveness.‘
Key clients
Bosch
Taroni
Brugg Cables
Armacell International
Cale Group
Coventya Group
FAM
GHH Radsatz/Bonatrans
Krones Group
Surfaces Technological Abrasives
TMCI Padovan
IPCO
Akos
Itago Partners
SM TopCo
Ethica Global Investments
Microgate
Mittel
M+W
Tecno Pool
Trumpf Group
Work highlights
- Advising Taroni on the acquisition of a longstanding and renowned Italian manufacturer of high-end silk.
- Acted for Armacell on its highly complex and sophisticated acquisition of an Italian manufacturer operating in the same field (plastics).
- Advising Microgate on its role in the construction of what will be the largest astronomical telescope in the world.