CORPORATE PROFILE

Mr. Manlio Cavestro (Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, age 74), after attaining his Diploma in Corporate Finance, joined Banca Commerciale Italiana in the early sixties and became soon one of its regional attorneys.

He started his industrial career in the mid seventies becoming partner and C.E.O. of one of the companies of the B.M.B. Group, dealing in industrial electro-mechanical equipment. The turnover of the company grew 10-fold in the span of a few years and, then, the entire group became part of Ansaldo S.p.A., the biggest Italian conglomerate in the electro-mechanical industrial sector, which was lately acquired by Patriarch Partners, LLC (U.S.A.).

Meanwhile, Mr. Cavestro established another company, Magnetic S.r.l., that he sold in the late eighties and is now part of the Ferroli Group, having a consolidated turnover over EUR. 600 million and a number of subsidiaries around the world.

In 1990 he acquired the majority stake of STALAM, leading a group of industrial and private investors, under the name of Stalpart.

21 Investimenti is a Private Equity group active in the growth of mid-market companies. It was established by Alessandro Benetton in 1992, with the mission to “bridge the gap between industry and finance”, according to the founder’s words.

Acting initially in the Italian market, 21 Investimenti has expanded its activities throughout Europe in partnership with Gérard Pluvinet, previously Chairman of Société Centrale pour l'Industrie (renamed 21 Centrale Partners), a listed holding company founded in 1909 and investing in small and medium size French companies.

Over the last 15 years, with an experienced team of 40 professionals, the 21 Group has been managing Private Equity funds for third party investors completing more than 70 investments. The value of the assets currently under management is over EUR. 1.3 billion.

For more details: www.21partners.com