Vitale & Co. advised Cerberus Capital Management and its affiliates (“Cerberus”), a global leader in alternative investing, to acquire a 57% share of Officine CST SpA, a leader in Public Administration (“PA”) credit management.
Headquartered in Rome, Officine CST provides integrated credit management services to large enterprises such as banks, institutional investors, utilities, and multinational companies, as well as small and medium sized enterprises. The company manages over €16 billion in claims and employs 150 people in Italy.
Cerberus agreed to acquire a controlling stake in the company from founder and chief executive officer Gianpiero Oddone and other shareholders. Mr. Oddone will continue as CEO and remains a shareholder with a 28% stake. Roberto Nicastro, senior advisor to Cerberus, will be the non-executive chairman.
Roberto Nicastro, senior advisor in Europe to Cerberus, said
“Officine CST marks an important direct investment for Cerberus in an Italian operating company that is a platform for future growth. By partnering with Gianpiero and his team, we believe Cerberus can help advance the company’s goal of helping enterprises efficiently manage credits due from the Public Administration. Officine CST has grown quickly thanks to the quality of its service. This will be absolutely central to its next stage of growth and is an area where Cerberus intends to invest more.”
Gianpiero Oddone, CEO of Officine CST commented
“Cerberus becoming a strategic partner and investor is a great chance to accelerate our growth and further develop our technological platform to service both large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises. This partnership and investment will enable us to strengthen our competitive position and achieve our potential. This is particularly important today, given the considerable challenges facing credits with the Public Administration due to lengthy bureaucratic processes.”