RINA will acquire the Londoner Edif Group for 118,5 million pounds



The Italian society of classification and certification RINA will acquire the entire share capital of Edif Group Limited, a portfolio company of Phoenix Equity Partners who supply services of testing, inspection, certification and ingegneristica advising (TIC-CE). Edif, founded in 2011, has center to London and about 650 dependent to which 2,500 collaborators dislocated in more join than 20 offices in the world. The contract, undersigned from holding RINA Spa, has a value of 118,5 million pounds (about 151 million euros). The conclusion of the operation, subject to the normal procedures antitrust, will happen during the second half of 2016.

RINA has specified that the acquisition is returned possible by an increase of vital undersigned from the partner financial shareholders of RINA, VEI Capital and NB Renaissance Partners, and from a financing granted from some of the more important Italian banks (BNL/BNP Paribas Italy, Unicredit and Banca IMI). Moreover the Italian group has emphasized that the operation ahead represents for RINA an ulterior step in the performance of a wider strategy than increase that will be not only translate in a greater geographic cover, but that it will ulteriorly enrich also the current competences of the group.

"This acquisition - it has confirmed the president and managing director of the Italian group, Ugo Salerno - is indeed strategic for RINA, also in consideration of the profile of Edif on the markets of the energy, the transports, the defense, the industry and the infrastructures that very spouse with our "DNA". Moreover Edif possesses a structure very similar to that of RINA, with two marks asserted: IT WAS that it represents the society of ingegneristica advising and NDE that is associated to the activities of test, inspection and certification. Given the complementary character of the services offered from our groups, integration will translate in a wider geographic cover and immediate advantages and synergies for both. With this acquisition the RINA turnover will reach 500 million euros with an EBITDA near 65 million euros. This will afford us to continue in the process of quotation in Stock exchange in the medium period".

The managing director of Edif, Rob Dilworth, has evidenced that the London society "is today an international truth of success in the field of the inspections and of the ingegneristica advising and we - has added - believe that is a strong strategic motivation to the base of our union with RINA. Our range of services and our geographic cover - Dilworth has explained - are strongly complementary with the current activities of RINA and are impatient to work entirety in order to push the group increased towards new successes".