Ambienta reaches first closing at EUR120m+

01 May 2008

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Fund

Ambienta has reached the first closing of its first vehicle, Ambienta I, at EUR123.75m. The fund has a target of EUR250m with a hard cap of EUR300m. The Italy-based vehicle has a lifespan of 10 years. Minimum subscription has been set at EUR250,000 and the GP has contributed EUR6m to the fund. Terms and conditions of the fund with respect to corporate governance, management fees, carried interest and hurdle rate reflect market practice.

No placement agents have been thus far retained, but non-exclusive agreements could be drawn in the future to reach the final closing by year's end. Labruna Mazziotti e Segni has been retained as legal adviser.

Investors

Current commitments originate from Italian and European financial institutions, industrial groups and family offices. Cornerstone investors are represented by Intesa Sanpaolo Bank and by a group of primary Italian entrepreneurial families, holding a 20% and close to a 10% shareholding in the management company respectively. The GP will seek further commitments among qualified Italian and foreign investors.

Investments

The fund projects to carry out 10-15 investments over the five-year investment phase. It aims to provide investors with a diversified exposure to the worldwide environmental business in its widest definition. Emphasis will thus be given to projects in the areas of renewable energy sources, bio-fuels, energy efficiency, pollution reduction, water and waste management.

The vehicle will invest primarily in expansion capital and buyouts with an average equity investment ticket comprised of between EUR10-30m. The fund also has the possibility of investing a maximum 10% of the fund in venture capital projects and another 20% in listed companies. Co-investments are not part of the core strategy, but could eventually be considered on a case-by-case basis. Exit strategy will depend on market conditions with a preference for IPOs, and secondly for trade sales and secondary buyouts. Proceeds cannot be reinvested.

People

Ambienta's management team is composed among others of chairman Rolando Polli and senior partner Nino Tronchetti Provera. From 1969-1997 Polli worked for McKinsey & Co founding the Spanish and Portuguese practices, managing the Italian practice and working in the Toronto and Geneva offices. Polli started up the first Italian investment club (Atmos) and the first consulting company (IG Partners), which specialised in renewable energy.

Tronchetti Provera started as a consultant with McKinsey & Co and established the environmental business within the practice. In 1997, he started up Cam Tecnologie (Camfin group) which develops cleantech products. Prior to the launch of Ambienta he was a part of the top management of the Telecom Italia Group.

Other partners include Jonathan Gibson, previously finance director at Italian downstream oil company ERG where he led the group's expansion into the wind farm sector from 2003 to 2007; Mauro Roversi, previously partner in SG Capital Europe, a mid-cap pan-European private equity firm involved in a number of successful buyout transactions in Italy and abroad; and Guido Rivolta, previously general manager of Pirelli Ambiente Eco Technology (Pirelli group) from 1997 to 2007, who has extensive experience on the more technical aspects of the environmental sector.

Name: Ambienta I

Target: EUR250m

First close: February 2008

Focus: Global, environmental

Contact

Mauro Roversi

mr@ambientasgr.com

Jonathan Gibson

jg@ambientasgr.com

Address

Ambienta SGR

Via Larga 2