Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace bags four non-binding offers

Italian aerospace manufacturer Piaggio Aerospace (Genoa) has received four non-binding offers for the acquisition of the group’s aircraft and engine businesses, Piaggio Aviation and Piaggio Aero Industries, the company, in administration since 2018, said in a statement. In the upcoming weeks, the offer will be assessed by Piaggio Aerospace Commissioner, Vincenzo Nicastro, and a team of experts, who will make recommendations to the Italian Ministry for Economic Development. After relevant authorisations, negotiations will then proceed with the party having presented the best offer in terms of the industrial plan, future guarantees, and purchase price. Negotiations for a binding offer are expected to last about a month. “We have received a wide range of proposals”, Nicastro commented. “Now the most delicate stage begins, which I hope will lead to identifying the best solution in the interest of Piaggio Aerospace, its employees as well as the company’s creditors”. Five bidders, spread over three continents, had been short-listed. They had explicitly confirmed their interest in purchasing the company and reaffirmed their willingness to take over the business in its entirety, the statement read. Piaggio Aerospace – which employs 940 people and produces amongst others, the nine-seat Piaggio Avanti executive twin-turboprop, the P.180 Avanti EVO variant, the P.1HH HammerHead drone, and the MPA Multirole Patrol Aircraft – entered extraordinary receivership in late 2018. Nicastro confirmed last month that the manufacturer is carrying forward its production and commercial plans with new orders near signing.