August 13, 2021
Latham & Watkins advised Ital Gas
Storage S.p.A. (IGS), an independent company that manages the natural gas
storage facility in Cornegliano Laudense, and its owners Sandstone Holding BV
and Whysol Investments, on an agreement with F2i Sgr, Italy’s leading
infrastructure fund manager, to acquire IGS.
The agreement provides for an initial sale
of 51% of IGS by the current owners Sandstone Holding BV, a subsidiary of North
Haven Infrastructure Partners II, a fund managed by Morgan Stanley
Infrastructure (92.5%) and Whysol Investments (7.5%), an independent investment
company founded and led by Alberto Bitetto, to three funds managed by F2i,
namely F2i - Fund for Sustainable Infrastructure, Third F2i Fund, and F2i-Ania
Fund. The sale of the remaining 49% of the share capital will take place in
2023.
The IGS storage facility, which was built
on a depleted natural gas field, has a capacity of 1.6 billion cubic metres and
is one of the most technologically advanced in the world.
The Latham team was led by Milan corporate
partner Stefano Sciolla with associates Giovanni Spedicato, Maria Giulia De
Cesari, Federica Di Terlizzi, and Mattia Siena. Advice on regulatory matters
was provided by counsel Cesare Milani and associate Edoardo Cassinelli.