Dea Capital debuts in the Italian shipping market with $200m worth of non-performing loans

Dea Capital Alternative Funds has announced its debut in the shipping business in Italy, confirming an exclusive report by Splash in November.

Chairman Roberto Saviane and CEO Gianandrea Perco disclosed the opening of a new branch specifically dedicated to the shipowning business, which will be part of the Idea Corporate Credit Recovery II vehicle launched a year ago.

The aim of the fund is to help to relaunch, develop and enhance the value of medium-sized Italian companies with sound business fundamentals, some of which are facing financial difficulties. 

Dea has already taken around $200m of non-performing-loans from three banks (Banca Ifis, UBI Banca and Banco BPM) connected to more than a dozen vessels, wet and dry, owned by eight shipping companies. These include Morfini, Elbana di Navigazione, Perseveranza di Navigazione, Motia di Navigazione, Finaval, Emerald Coral Shipping e Monteverde di Navigazione.

Sara Bertolini has been appointed to lead the new shipping setup for Dea.