Piaggio Aerospace solicits buyers

Piaggio Aero Industries and its subsidiary Piaggio Aviation have launched an international call for the sale of the brand which has been in administration for the past year. The two companies, currently under Extraordinary Administration, operate under the Piaggio Aerospace brand. Following authorisation from the Italian Ministry for Economic Development, a notice, calling for expressions of interest in the company, was published in a number of Italian financial publications on Thursday 27th February.
Piaggio officials have expressed a preference to sell both companies to one new owner. Despite Piaggio Aero Industries and Piaggio Aviation being two different legal entities, Piaggio says the two form a unified business operating synergistically. Potential buyers for all or part of the businesses have been invited to send their expressions of interest (EOI) to the Extraordinary Commissioner, Vincenzo Nicastro, no later than April 3, 2020.
After assessing the quality of each proposal, the commissioner will decide whether to admit the applicants to continue in the process. Similarly, as the published announcement literally reads, “any final determination with regard to the sale shall […] be subject to the authorization of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, after hearing the opinion of the Surveillance Committee”.
Nicastro said in a statement: “Just over a year since the extraordinary administration started, we have succeeded in creating a respectable order intake, which makes the company attractive for a buyer.
“We shall rigorously evaluate each of the offers that will reach us with the aim of selling the company in its entirety and finding a buyer who can offer a solid, long-lasting recovery and development plan. We aim at concluding the process within the current year.”
Piaggio currently has an orderbook of €450m but a further €450m of sales is expected to be added shortly; taking the total order to book to about €900m.
Potential buyers should sent an EOI in English or Italian to the Extraordinary Commissioner via email. More information for prospective buyers is available here.