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Maltese firm brokers deal between Italian, British companies
by David Kelleher
A local financial consultancy firm has been instrumental in
broking an agreement between British and Italian media companies.
The agreement sees London-based Finesse Ltd taking a 45 per
cent stake in the Italian company Soprodimec Srl, better known
as the mother company of the TV station Tele Libera.
Speaking to The Malta Business Weekly, Alain Mangion, managing
director of Credinvest International, said his company had been
asked to identify companies interested in investing in media
ventures in the Mediterranean.
“Both companies are already our clients. Finesse contacted
us to look for media interests in the Mediterranean and in other
areas. We had already carried out some work for Tele Libera,
so it was much easier for Credinvest to help both of them to
reach an agreement,” Mr Mangion said.
Finesse was set up with private capital and has been investing
in various media interests. It turned its eyes on Tele Libera
for a number of reasons.
“First of all, Tele Libera, as a regional station, has
the highest viewership rate in the campagna area. This station
focuses mostly on two areas: development of cultural affairs
and an analysis of what is happening in the south of Italy.
Tele Libera has made a name for itself because of its non-biased
reporting. It is also one of the leading TV stations on Sicilian
matters, apart from having strong links to Napoli Calcio,”
Mr Mangion explained.
Investors were interested in the Italian station because of
the numerous opportunities in producing programming for third
parties. Finesse were particularly interested in developing
links between Tele Libera and other stations in the Mediterranean.
“The Italian station will benefit from Finesse’s expertise
as a broadcaster via satellite and over the Internet. One area
that could be of great benefit to Tele Libera is the use of
the Internet. Going on-line could help attract an audience of
Italian emigrants,” Mr Mangion said.
Credinvest International is a professional and financial services
organisation based in Malta. The company offers corporate finance,
sport financing, consulting and international corporate vehicles.
Credinvest associates are found in over 15 major European cities.
Last year, Credinvest International reached a “regional
agreement” with Italian mobile manufacturer Telit.
The agreement has helped the Italian company to establish links
in North Africa where the cellular
business is expected to boom in the coming years. Telit’s
decision to rope in a local company is based on two factors:
Malta’s proximity to the N. African region and the island’s
already established contacts over there.
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