Ion acquires Prelios, closing for 1.35 billion

X3 Group, a subsidiary of the Ion Group, announces theclosing of the acquisition from US hedge fund Davidson Kempner of Prelios for EUR 1.35 billion. Founded in 1990 in Milan - explains a note - Prelios operates in Italy in alternative asset management, servicing and specialised real estate services, with more than EUR 40 billion in assets under management including non-performing loans, probable defaults and real estate funds.

The Bank of Italy and the Italian government gave the go-ahead to the agreement after careful consideration, as Ion Investment Group, owned by the Bolognese but Swiss resident financier Andrea Pignataro, is an investment holding company focused on software and data to digitise and automate workflows in the finance sector. Its investees include Cerved and Cedacri, companies that manage sensitive data and confidential information on liens, bankruptcy proceedings, foreclosures, but also data on bank customers and suppliers, corporate shareholders and much more.

"It is a great satisfaction and fills us with enthusiasm and responsibility to successfully conclude this long journey," said Prelios chairman Fabrizio Palenzona. "The acquisition by Ion will allow Prelios to consolidate its leadership role in the servicing and asset management sector. The transaction, the chairman continues, "is part of a broader strategy aimed at improving asset management and efficient decision-making processes through the use of data. The credit servicing sector in Italy is going through a significant consolidation phase, driven by the need to improve operational efficiency, exploit economies of scale, and expand service capabilities in a maturing market that requires new, more sophisticated and evolved service offerings. Thanks to Ion all this will be possible".