FHP GROUP – Italy’s leading port and railway bulk cargo logistics company, owned by Italy’s largest infrastructure fund manager F2ì SGR – has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 80% of the BuT terminal in the port of Savona, its ninth port terminal in Italy and the first in the Liguria region.

The agreement provides for the acquisition of a majority stake in BuT – a logistics company in the bulk sector (fertilizers, iron ore, soda ash, agricultural and industrial bulk goods) – boasting decades of experience in the handling of goods primarily intended for the markets of the North and Northwest of Italy.

The Savona terminal will be added to the 9 terminals already managed by FHP in the ports of Carrara, Livorno, Monfalcone, Marghera and Chioggia and the 4 land terminals (Fiorenzuola d’Arda, Incoronata, Piedimonte San Germano and Villa Selva) already in operation for the Group’s rail intermodal activities.

FHP handles about 10 million tons of goods at its ports annually and, with a fleet of 40 locomotives and 1,240 freight wagons, covers more than 6 million kilometers in Europe by rail. The closing of the deal is expected for the end of October, upon completion of the Golden Power procedure and authorizations under the jurisdiction of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority.

Statement by Paolo Cornetto, CEO of FHP GROUP: ”The company of which we are acquiring a controlling stake will increase the Group’s offering and competitiveness through access to docks with excellent draughts, good indoor storage capacity, and optimal access to highways and railways, making it ideally positioned to serve the markets of the Northwest regions. In addition, BuT’s shareholders and management have an excellent reputation and solid know-how in the industry, and have always distinguished themselves for their attention to service and the pursuit of added value for their customers through activities such as, for example, the packaging and bagging of fertilizers carried out using modern and highly efficient equipment”.

Statement by Gerardo Ghiliotto, CEO and founder of BuT: “We have wholeheartedly embraced the FHP project, which is based on a long-term industrial strategy and will be able to benefit our business, our current and potential customers and the outlook for our terminal. We are keeping a stake in the company that is not just a shareholding but also and especially a mark of our full identification with and participation in the project. The choice was made easier by having the same vision as the shareholder and management of FHP to whom I am bound by a longstanding relationship of friendship, respect and common values. The new business model we have implemented at BuT in recent years can only be strengthened, and important
new synergies will be found for the successful consolidation of our activities and future long-term growth”.

FHP Group and BuT were supported respectively by FHP’s in-house legal team, led by the company’s Group General Counsel, and by legal and financial advisors Cleary Gottlieb and Prothea for FHP, and Pedersoli Gattai, VSL Club and Studio Murialdo for BuT.

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