Corriere della Sera

Casa Cipriani, un fondo da 500 milioni di dollari per esportare il lusso italiano nelle capitali del mondo

10 Ottobre 2023

Londra, Parigi, Dubai, Miami, Beverly Hill, San Paolo del Brasile e Istanbul. Sono le città in cui vuole espandere la propria attività, nel campo della hôtellerie di lusso, il gruppo veneziano Cipriani, che ieri sera a New York ha presentato la strategia del Cipriani Hospitality Fund, 500 milioni di dollari da investire per finanziare lo sviluppo estero di Casa Cipriani (members only club e hotel) e Residenze Cipriani.
Al fianco del presidente Arrigo Cipriani e del figlio Giuseppe, il ceo del gruppo (nella foto), omonimo del nonno, il fondatore dell’Harry’s Bar di Venezia nel 1931, ci sono due protagonisti della finanza d’impresa europea: l’asset management lussemburghese Optimum (1,8 miliardi di asset under management) e la banca svizzera Crédit Des Alpes, con all’attivo operazioni per oltre 140 miliardi. Centralissime le location che ricalcheranno lo schema delle prime aperture a New York e a Milano (in via Palestro). A Londra Cipriani aprirà a Mayfair, a Dubai a Jumeirah Bay, mentre a Istanbul l’area scelta è quella di Yidiz.

TRANSLATION FROM THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Corriere della Sera – 10 October 2023
HOSPITALITY & FINANCE

Casa Cipriani, a 500 million dollar fund for exporting Italian luxury to the world’s capitals

London, Paris, Dubai, Miami, Beverly Hills, Sao Paulo, Brazil and Istanbul. These are the cities in which the Venetian Cipriani group wants to expand its business in the field of luxury hospitality which yesterday evening in New York presented the strategy of the Cipriani Hospitality Fund: 500 million dollars to be invested for financing the international development of Casa Cipriani (members only club and hotels) and Cipriani Residences.

Alongside chairman Arrigo Cipriani and his son Giuseppe, the group’s CEO (in the photo), namesake of his grandfather and the founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice in 1931, there are two protagonists of the European corporate finance scene: Luxembourg-based asset manager Optimum and Swiss bank Crédit des Alpes, with over 140 billion worth of transactions to date. The developments will be centrally located in each chosen city, along the New York and Milan (via Palestro) models. In London Cipriani will open in Mayfair, in Dubai at Jumeirah Bay, while in Istanbul the chosen area is Yidiz.

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Corriere della Sera

Casa Cipriani, un fondo da 500 milioni per le nuove aperture con Optimum e Crédit des Alpes

di Redazione Economia

9 Ottobre 2023

Un fondo da 500 milioni di euro per esportare nel mondo, dopo i successi di New York e Milano (nella foto, la sede recentemente aperta), il marchio Cipriani e le caratteristiche uniche di ospitalità che hanno reso celebre il gruppo veneziano in oltre un secolo di attività. Il progetto del Cipriani Hospitality Fund verrà presentato oggi, 9 ottobre, a New York, agli investitori istituzionali. Si tratta di un passo importante sulla strada dell’espansione internazionale di Casa Cipriani (members only club e hotel) e Residenze Cipriani.

Partner
Al fianco del gruppo veneziano, oggi guidato dal presidente Arrigo e dal figlio Giuseppe, il ceo del gruppo, omonimo del fondatore, che rappresenta la terza generazione della famiglia che nel 1931 aprì vicino a San Marco, a Venezia, il celebre Harry’s Bar, ci sono due importanti player finanziari di livello internazionale. Da un lato Optimum asset management, fondata nel 2009 a Lussemburgo e che oggi conta 1,8 miliardi di asset under management oltre a un solido rapporto di partnership con il fondo Blackstone, dall’altro la banca svizzera Crédit des Alpes, fondata nel 1956 e con all’attivo circa 300 operazioni e oltre 140 miliardi di euro in investimenti o deals intermediati.

Tra Londra, Parigi e Dubai
Il Fondo Cipriani Hospitality sembra avere un’ottima lista di opportunità d’investimento perché il gruppo, unica presenza italiana nel selezionatissimo mercato mondiale dell’hôtellerie di lusso, viene costantemente sollecitato da imprenditori di tutto il mondo che vorrebbero chi formare una joint-venture, chi prendere in franchise il nome e chi essere azionista di un’operazione alberghiera o di ristorazione nel proprio Paese. In questo senso Crédit des Alpes e Optimum sembrano i partners ideali; il primo perché ha già lavorato con Cipriani e investito insieme con lui in svariate iniziative internazionali e il secondo perché è in partnership con Blackstone in Europa e verosimilmente gode di un accesso ad opportunità non aperte ad altri. Il progetto che verrà svelato oggi a New York ha tra gli obiettivi una serie di nuove aperture che vanno da Londra (Mayfair) a Parigi, da Dubai (Jumeirah Bay) a Miami, da Beverly Hills al Brasile (San Paolo) e fino a Istanbul (Yidiz). Cipriani con Crédit des Alpes e Optimum sembra dunque in grado di formare un team capace di confrontarsi sul piano della ricercatezza e dell’ospitalità più raffinata con i maggiori player internazionali e al contempo di offrire ai co-investitori importanti rendimenti, con un indicatore di rendimento del capitale investito (Irr) tra il 18 e il 20 per cento annuo netto.

TRANSLATION FROM THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Corriere della Sera – 9 October 2023
HOSPITALITY & FINANCE

Casa Cipriani, a 500 million fund for new openings with Optimum and Crédit des Alpes

by Economics Editorial Staff

A 500 million dollar fund for exporting to the world, following the successes of New York and Milan (in the photo, the recently opened headquarters), the Cipriani brand and the unique hospitality characteristics that have made the Venetian group famous for over a century.
The Cipriani Hospitality Fund project will be presented today, 9 October, in New York, to institutional investors. This is an important step on the road to the international expansion of Casa Cipriani (members only clubs and hotels) and Residences Cipriani

Partnerships
Alongside the Venetian group, today led by chairman Arrigo and his son Giuseppe, the group’s CEO, namesake of the founder, who represents the third generation of the family who opened the famous Harry’s Bar in 1931 near San Marco in Venice, there are two important international financial players.
The first, Optimum Asset Management, founded in 2009 in Luxembourg with 1.8 billion in assets under management as well as a solid partnership with Blackstone, and secondly, Swiss bank Crédit des Alpes, founded in 1956 with around 300 operations under its belt and over 140 billion euros in direct investments or brokered deals.

Between London, Paris and Dubai
The Cipriani Hospitality Fund appears to have an excellent list of investment opportunities because the group, the only Italian presence in the highly selected global luxury hotel market, is constantly sought after by entrepreneurs from the world over who would like either to form a joint venture, or to franchise the name, or to be a shareholder in a hotel or restaurant operation in their respective country. In this sense Crédit des Alpes and Optimum seem to be the ideal partners; the former because it has already worked with Cipriani and invested together with them in several international initiatives and the latter because it is in partnership with Blackstone in Europe and likely to enjoy access to opportunities not yet available to others. The project, which will be unveiled today in New York, has among its objectives a series of new openings ranging from London (Mayfair) to Paris, from Dubai (Jumeirah Bay) to Miami, from Beverly Hills to Brazil (Sao Paulo) and up to Istanbul (Yidiz). Therefore, Cipriani, with Crédit des Alpes and Optimum, seem able to form a team capable of competing for sophistication and the most refined hospitality with major international players, whilst at the same time offering co-investors important returns, with a yield indicator of the invested capital (IRR) between 18 and 20 percent net per year.

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Corriere della Sera

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Private Equity, investors focused on Italy

Cerina (Crédit des Alpes): smaller transactions, but higher returns

After a period of absence from the Italian market, investment bank Crédit des Alpes, led by chairman Fabrizio Cerina, has returned to operate in Milan. Cerina was born in Piacenza but had lived and worked for many years both in Geneva and London.
One factor that prompted the return is the Casa Cipriani project which is soon to open in Palazzo Bernasconi located on Corso Venezia in the heart of upscale Milan. The member’s club managed by Cipriani encompasses 7,000 square meters, including 16 hotel suites, two restaurants, bar “Arrigo”, and an elegant wellness center. Cerina explains, “We have acted as the investment bank, bringing together different interests, such as Merope Fund, the owner of the property, whose head Pietro Croce led the transaction. The real estate mediation was carried out by Luca De Ambrosis’ Dea. This is a dynamic moment for the Italian brick-and-mortar market. Several other operations are possible as well”.
Crédit des Alpes works mainly with non-Italian institutional clients. In fact, almost exclusively with US and London investment funds, as well as other banks that are generally listed in the respective countries of origin, while the group is not active in private banking. Of the approximately 300 private equity and mergers and acquisitions that the bank has conducted on four continents in the last 25 years, only five were in Italy. The most important being Redaelli Tecna, acquired by Crédit des Alpes with Kohlberg & Co. of New York, which dates back about twenty years ago, and the sale of an important property owned by Crédit des Alpes to Cometa Fund. Now, however, there is newfound attention to the Peninsula. “For too many years,” states Cerina, “Italy has been considered a Cinderella in international markets. This was mainly due to the period of confusion in Italian politics. In the last two years, two factors have intervened to change this perception. First the government, now led by Mario Draghi, is an important turning point, as this gave the sign of newfound international credibility to Italy. Secondly, at almost the same time, private equity operators have reconsidered their investment size in both the manufacturing and real estate sectors. Italy has different dimensions compared to what large private equity operators are used to on Anglo-Saxon markets. Alongside some major operations currently in progress, there are medium-sized investors interested in the Italian market. The difficulty of allocating the considerable resources with the prospect of appealing returns has driven investors to work with tickets of between 30 and 60 million euros.”
The cultural gap has been overcome. In Great Britain and The United States, the investment focus has been on companies with a turnover between 100 and 500 million euros. In Italy, the minimum limit becomes much lower, but the rate of return on investments is often higher than abroad. “There are more transactions of smaller dimensions,” says Cerina. “In the end, it is only a matter of working more. But that is not a problem. In Italy, there are many attractive sectors such as cosmetics and beauty care in general, health care, with particular reference to the silver economy and consumer goods. Above all, whatever is distributable online is appealing. Today the proportion of sales distributed through the digital channel of total sales in Italy is around 10 percent. In France, around 20 percent, and in Great Britain 30 percent. Thus, there are important margins for growth. All of this will have a significant impact on various sectors, above all real estate dedicated to logistics. There is no shortage of opportunities. We are very interested in Italy, in investing our own capital, as well as that of our international customers. We are actively looking for suitable targets” concludes Cerina. Stefano Righi

Private Equity, gli investitori puntano sull’Italia

Cerina (Crédit des Alpes): operazioni più piccole, ma rendimenti più alti

Dopo un lungo periodo di assenza dal mercato italiano, torna a riaffacciarsi a Milano Crédit des Alpes, la investment bank guidata come presidente da Fabrizio Cerina, banchiere nato a Piacenza ma che da molto tempo vive e lavora tra Ginevra e Londra. A propiziare il rientro è la realizzazione del progetto Casa Cipriani, a palazzo Bernasconi, nel centralissimo Corso Venezia. Sta infatti per aprire, su 7 mila metri quadrati, quello che diventerà un Member’s club gestito da Cipriani, con due ristoranti, 16 suites d’albergo, un bar («Arrigo») e una grande Spa. «Noi — spiega Cerina — abbiamo agito da banca d’affari, mettendo assieme interessi diversi, come quelli del Fondo Merope, proprietario dell’immobile e guidato in questa operazione da Pietro Croce. La parte di mediazione immobiliare è stata svolta da Dea, di Luca De Ambrosis. È un momento di grande dinamismo sul mercato del mattone italiano e ci sono parecchie altre operazioni possibili». Crédit des Alpes tratta clientela istituzionale soprattutto non italiana, quasi esclusivamente fondi d’investimento statunitensi e londinesi e altre banche, generalmente quotati nei rispettivi Paesi d’origine, mentre il gruppo non è attivo nel private banking. Su circa 300 operazioni di private equity e fusioni e acquisizioni che la banca ha condotto su quattro continenti negli ultimi 25 anni, solo cinque si sono realizzate in Italia: le più importanti sono state Redaelli Tecna, che Crédit des Alpes aveva acquisito con Kohlberg & Co. di New York e che risale a una ventina d’anni fa, oltre a un’operazione di real estate con la cessione di un importante immobile di proprietà di Crédit des Alpes al Fondo Cometa. Ora, invece, si registra una ritrovata attenzione verso la Penisola. «Per troppi anni — sottolinea Cerina — sui mercati internazionali l’Italia è stata considerata come una Cenerentola, a causa, soprattutto, del periodo di confusione nella politica italiana. Nell’ultimo biennio sono intervenuti due fattori che hanno cambiato questa percezione. Internamente si è insediato il governo guidato da Mario Draghi, che ha dato una svolta al Paese nel segno di una ritrovata credibilità internazionale. E quasi contemporaneamente gli operatori del private equity hanno riconsiderato le loro size di investimento. Sia nelle imprese operative, produttive, che nell’immobiliare. L’Italia ha dimensioni diverse rispetto a quanto sono abituati i grandi operatori del private equity sui mercati anglosassoni. E a fianco di alcune grandi operazioni, come quelle in corso, ora si affiancano medi investitori interessati al mercato italiano. Così ora, sulla spinta della difficoltà ad allocare le notevoli risorse disponibili e alla luce di percentuali di ritorno sull’investimento davvero interessanti, si è rivista la dimensione dell’investimento con ticket anche tra i 30 e i 60 milioni di euro».Il gap, quasi di natura culturale, è stato superato. Se in Gran Bretagna e negli Stati Uniti gli interventi si rivolgono soprattutto ad aziende con fatturato tra i 100 e i 500 milioni di euro, in Italia il limite minimo diventa assai minore, ma il tasso di ritorno sugli investimenti è spesso superiore rispetto all’estero. «Si fanno più transazioni, di minor dimensione — sostiene Cerina —: alla fine si tratta solamente di lavorare di più. Ma non è questo un problema. Ci sono, in Italia, molti settori attraenti, penso alla cosmetica e al beauty care in generale, l’health care, con particolarmente riferimento alla silver economy e i consumer goods. Su tutto, poi, quanto è distribuibile online. Oggi la proporzione delle vendite attraverso il canale digitale sul totale delle vendite in Italia è attorno al 10 per cento. In Francia si aggira sul 20 per cento, in Gran Bretagna è al 30 per cento. Ci sono dunque margini importanti di crescita e tutto questo avrà un impatto rilevante in vari settori, su tutti la parte immobiliare dedicata alla logistica. Le occasioni non mancano. Noi siamo molto interessati all’Italia, ad investirci capitali nostri e della nostra clientela internazionale. Stiamo cercando attivamente dei target appropriati», conclude Cerina. Stefano Righi

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Bloomberg

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Credit des Alpes Forms Property Venture With Miami Firms

Swiss bank Credit des Alpes SA said it formed a real estate venture with three Miami companies as the U.S. housing market recovers.
Credit des Alpes will partner with Domus One Group LLC, Parinvest Asset Management and Location 3 LLC for property developments in the U.S. and beyond, the company said in an e-mailed statement today. The venture, to be called Credit des Alpes Partners, will include a subsidiary that will act as an agent and property manager, according to the statement.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
The U.S. housing market is rebounding as growth picks up in the world’s largest economy. American builders in November started work on more houses than at any point in the previous five years, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

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Bloomberg

Miami Condo Market Keeps Global Appeal; Safety, Profits, Attract Overseas Investment

Miami is one of the safest and most attractive global cities for overseas condominium purchases, and the largest group of investors come from Brazil, according to industry experts.
Internationally-based investment bank Credit des Alpes saw fit to acquire an interest in Miami-based Parinvest Group, which provides residential and commercial property sales and asset management services to foreign investors. In a Sept. 4 statement, Fabrizio
Cerina, the bank’s chairman, said ‘‘Certain areas of the U.S. real estate market are, and will continue to be, safe and sound investments, providing significant prospects
for capital gains. We have seen a strong increase in interest from our Latin American client base and we expect this trend to continue.’’
Cerina, who spoke to BNA Sept. 7, said that many condominiums in Miami allow a reasonable expectation of capital gain. ‘‘Real estate in the Miami beach area
presents a good yield—even after taxes and fees. The investments can yield a steady five to six percent net.’’

High Net Worth Individuals. Cerina referenced Citibank’s 2012 Wealth Report, which cited Miami, where prime property values rose 19 percent last year, as a good example of a location that experienced double-digit growth in 2011. This was fueled, the report
said, by the flight of capital by high net worth individuals (HNWI) who found favorable exchange rates during the credit crunch. ‘‘Citibank includes Miami among the
10 most interesting cities [for investment] in the world,’’ Cerina said. ‘‘And I agree with that.’’

Cerina said that Brazilians were the biggest drivers of overseas condominium investment, followed by other South American countries, followed then by Europeans.
Surprisingly, his strongest European investors have been Italians, rather than Germans.
Cerina’s main neighborhood of interest lies in Miami Beach, rather than the city’s downtown. ‘‘Miami Beach is still very unique and that is the real draw,’’ Cerina
said. ‘‘In real estate you always want to make sure that whatever you buy can’t be diluted as an investment. The investment shouldn’t be something that can be repro-
duced indefinitely.’’

Familiar Places. Selected emerging economies, according to the Citibank report, will be surpassing the developed world in gains in global mega-wealth, but as far as choosing a home is concerned, ‘‘it’s the familiar places that are still drawing the super-rich.’’ One of Parinvest’s core activities has been handling the property investments of prominent Central, South American, and European families.
Asked about the biggest dangers for overseas investors in Miami commercial real estate, Cerina named the possibility of excessive taxation. ‘‘I hope politicians don’t overdo it and kill the golden egg,’’ he said. The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA),
he said, is a bad idea at the present time. His other concern is a chronic real estate dilemma, where everybody wants to sell the same thing at the same time. Cerina
said that during the worst times of 2008, 2009, and 2010 condo units performed consistently well above market conditions. ‘‘The liquidity has always been there and
market volatility has been high, but it normalized very quickly. Market volatility has never been [deemed] unacceptable by prudent investors.’’

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Bloomberg

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Credit Des Alpes Acquires Interest in Parinvest Group

Swiss investment bank Credit des Alpes agreed to acquire an interest in Parinvest Group, a Miami- based real estate broker and asset manager.
The transaction will lead to the creation of a new company, Parinvest Asset Management Inc., that will provide property sales and asset management services to foreign investors in Miami, Los Angeles and New York, Credit des Alpes said in an e- mailed statement. Financial terms of the deal, which the firm said would help it access investment opportunities for Latin American clients, were not disclosed.
“Certain areas of the U.S. real estate market are, and will continue to be, safe and sound investments,”
Credit des Alpes chairman Fabrizio Cerina said in the statement. “We have seen a strong increase in interest from our Latin American client base and we expect this trend to continue.”
Credit des Alpes and Parinvest have been collaborating to advise clients on Miami property transactions since 2007, according to the statement.

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L’Agefi

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Crédit des Alpes: Vivendi buys GVT of Brazil

Telecom group GVT of Brazil, listed at Bovespa, has been the object of a bidding competition between Vivendi and Telefonica. Geneva-based group Crédit des Alpes advised GVT’s majority shareholders’ allowing them to close the transaction and Vivendi to take it away from Telefonica (while also establishing a foothold in Latin America). Vivendi acquired in a first stage a 37.9% share in GVT equity, together with an irrevocable option to buy a further 19.6% at a price of 32 dollars per share, which valued GVT 4.2 billion dollars (a valuation considerably higher than Telefonica’s initial bid). Vivendi, with investments in the communication and entertainment industries controls, among the others, Activision Blizzard, Universal Music Group, SFR, Maroc Telecom Group, Canal+ Group. In 2008 Vivendi achieved revenues of €25.4 billion and adjusted net income of €2.7 billion. With operations in 77 countries it has about 43,000 employees. GVT is the Brazilian telecom company with the highest rate of growth which offers a variety of solutions in traditional as well as non-traditional telecommunications, internet-related services and pay TV. In fiscal year ended June 30 2009 GVT had sales of 800 million dollars and adjusted EBITDA of 300 million.

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Bloomberg

Crédit des Alpes originated this transaction and advised GVT’s majority shareholders

Vivendi Gains Control of GVT, Trumping Telefonica

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) — Vivendi SA, owner of the world’s largest music company, gained control of GVT (Holding) SA by purchasing a majority stake and began a mandatory bid for the rest of the shares, trumping a competing offer by Telefonica SA. The bid of 56 Brazilian reais a share values the company at 7.2 billion reais ($4.18 billion). Paris-based Vivendi said in a Web site announcement today it holds stock and options amounting to a 58 percent stake in the target company. ”The acquisition of GVT is totally aligned with our strategy of secular expansion in rapid growth economies,” Chief Executive Officer Jean-Bernard Levy said in the statement. ”As it did some years ago in Morocco, Vivendi is committing itself to a large and lasting investment in Brazil, which both in the short and longer term will create value for our shareholders.” Vivendi owns Maroc Telecom, French mobile-phone operator SFR and the world’s largest music company. The company is considering the sale of its stake in NBC Universal, the U.S. media company controlled by General Electric Co. Levy has labeled that business a “non-core” asset.
”It was a price much higher than Vivendi’s initial offer and also much higher than what I consider a fair price,” said Alex Pardellas, a Banif Corretora analyst in Sao Paulo. ”They are paying a premium to set foot in the country.” Vivendi said in the statement it purchased 37.9 percent of GVT’s outstanding voting share capital, and has a right to buy 19.6 percent more through call options, giving it almost 58 percent of GVT. Out of the Game
The company acquired the stakes of GVT’s controlling shareholders Global Village Telecom (Holland) BV and Swarth Group, as well as shares from smaller investors. Under Brazilian law, Vivendi filed a mandatory tender offer for GVT due to its purchase of the controlling stake, according to the statement. Unlike Vivendi, Madrid-based Telefonica is already a major player in Brazil, the company’s second-biggest market after Spain. Its Telesp – Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo SA unit has a 27.6 percent market share for fixed-line services, according to data from IHS Global Insight, a market intelligence firm. It also holds 50 percent of Vivo Participacoes SA, Brazil’s largest wireless carrier, with Portugal Telecom SGPS SA.
GVT, which has 2.5 percent of the fixed-line market, offered regional cost savings to Telefonica. ”Telesp can now expect more competition as GVT expands into Sao Paulo,” Rizwan Ali, head of research at Deutsche Bank AG, wrote in a note to clients. ”Vivendi’s entry in the Brazilian telecom sector will also fuel speculation as to what else it can buy to offer a full menu of services.”

Best Offer
Telefonica, Europe’s second-largest phone company, offered to buy GVT shares for 50.50 reais each, 20 percent more than an initial 42-real offer Vivendi put out Sept. 8.
The bid was ”the highest price we could offer considering synergies between Telefonica and GVT,” Antonio Carlos Valente, CEO of Telefonica’s unit in Brazil, said after Vivendi’s announcement.
The Spanish company also said in an e-mail Brazil is a ”highly strategic market” for the company and it is still looking for opportunities in the country.
Vivendi rose 19 cents to 19.81 euros today in Paris. The stock has lost 15 percent this year. GVT closed at 53.34 reais in Brazil, surging 47 percent since Vivendi’s first offer.
Brazil’s telecommunications agency, known as Anatel, cleared the way for both Vivendi or Telefonica to buy GVT yesterday, while setting conditions for the Spanish company. Restrictions weren’t set on a Vivendi-GVT deal because the French company doesn’t operate in Brazil yet.

Public Scrutiny
A transaction led by Telefonica was also under a public consultation opened by Sao Paulo’s federal prosecutor’s office. The government wanted public input on whether a purchase would affect the company’s ability to invest in its Brazilian network and services. Anatel in June blocked Telesp from selling its high-speed Internet service after four system failures in the past year halted operations in private and public services including police stations and schools. Telesp was prohibited from selling its Speedy service for two months.
GVT emerged in 1999 during Brazil’s privatization of the telecommunications industry. CEO Amos Genish and Chairman Shaul Shani helped the carrier outpace growth at its older rivals by focusing on customers and businesses willing to pay for faster Internet service. The carrier was formed as the government auctioned its stake in an international carrier and in three fixed-lines companies, each one operating in a different region. Brazil then auctioned licenses to create the so-called mirror operators to compete with the former state-controlled carriers.
GVT paid 100,000 reais for its license in August 1999 to operate in the same 10 states as Brasil Telecom SA while Telefonica bought Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo SA to operate in Sao Paulo, the most populous state. GVT, Brazil’s fourth-biggest high-speed Internet provider, has a 15,000-kilometer (9,300-mile) fiber-optic network.

About Vivendi
A world leader in communications and entertainment, Vivendi controls Activision Blizzard (#1 in video games worldwide), Universal Music Group (#1 in music worldwide), SFR (#2 in mobile and fixed telecom in France), Maroc Telecom Group (#1 in mobile and fixed telecom in Morocco), Canal+ Group (#1 in pay-TV in France) and owns 20% of NBCU (leading U.S. media and entertainment group). In 2008, Vivendi achieved revenues of €25.4 billion and adjusted net income of €2.7 billion. With operations in 77 countries, the Group has about 43,000 employees.
www.vivendi.com

About GVT
GVT is the most well-recognized alternative to the fixed-line incumbents in the Brazilian market and the fastest growing telecommunications services provider in Brazil. GVT offers a diversified portfolio of solutions for conventional and VoIP telephony, corporate data, broadband, Internet services and pay TV. GVT’s net revenues and Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve-month period ended June 30, 2009 were R$1,495.0 million (about 800 million USD) and R$574.1 million (about 300 million USD), respectively. For the period from 2006 to 2008, GVT generated compounded annual growth rates of 31.1% for net revenues and an increase of 40.2% in Adjusted EBITDA, recording an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 38.0% in the first half of 2009. As of June 30, 2009, GVT had approximately 2.3 million lines in service (including voice, broadband, data and VoIP services). GVT is traded on the Brazilian BOVESPA under the symbol GVTT3.SA.
www.gvt.com.br

About Crédit des Alpes
Crédit des Alpes is a financial services group with over 25 years experience, specialising in sourcing and financing exclusive investment opportunities for institutional and corporate clients. Through its subsidiaries it also advises and co-invests in real-estate and private equity transactions. First established in Switzerland, Crédit des Alpes now operates throughout the world, and has executed transactions in numerous jurisdictions, in particular the United States, the United Kingdom, South America and Russia.
www.creditdesalpes.com

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Giornale del Popolo

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Crédit des Alpes: ”Business with Russians but not only in Russia”

The Russian giant Severstal Metiz has bought the Gardone Valtrompia plant of Redaelli Tecna, a leading producer of steel wire ropes (former Lucchini group). The company was sold this August by Crédit des Alpes (with offices in Geneva and Lugano) which is controlled by the Swiss-Italian financier Fabrizio Cerina who had bought the plant in 2000. The Russians are extremely active in the raw material sector where they seem to be laying down the law. ”This is why,” says Fabrizio Cerina (picture) ”after careful consideration, I came to the conclusion that it is better to do business with them rather than come off worst in an unequal struggle. However, our investment wasn’t a short-term speculation, since eight years in the industrial sector is no mean achievement,” admits Cerina. On the other front, Crédit des Alpes is specialising in Private Equity operations. Again Fabrizio Cerina, together with the Cipriani group as the major shareholder, has wrapped up one of the largest property deals ($250m) on the American market by selling the Saxony Hotel of South Beach, Miami. Once more the Russians are the buyers. The huge hotel has by the way been leased back by Cipriani. Thanks to the hike in raw material prices and although the Russian market has been suffering recently as a result of the conflict with Georgia, the Russian tycoons are nonetheless among those with the most ready money and capital resources, confides Cerina, a fact that is also confirmed by their many acquisitions on the Swiss property market.

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Il Sole 24 Ore

Translated from the original article

Cipriani in South Beach with Crédit des Alpes

Cipriani buys a hotel in Miami, with the help of a Swiss Bank. It might seem complicated, but it is not. The Venice-rooted group led by Arrigo Cipriani and by his son Giuseppe, is now adding hotels to the restaurant business. In that context, they acquired the Saxony Hotel at South Beach in a USD 250 million maxi-deal. The Saxony will be restructured and will reopen at the end of 2009, with the Cipriani Ocean Resort and Club Residences flag. Crédit des Alpes, the international banking group with branches in Geneva and Lugano headed by Fabrizio Cerina directed the operation. Cerina’s bank is also a partner of the Cipriani’s, as the second main shareholder, in the Cipriani London, the fashionable restaurant in the English capital.

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