Italian PE firm plans to make Fiat factory electric

A number of proposals have been put forward to Italy’s government as resolutions to the close of Fiat’s Termini Imerese plant near Palermo, which employs around 1,400 people, as it shifts production elsewhere.

Cape chairman Simone Cimino has already raised about €50m from investors, including the Sicilian regional government and French bank Natixis, and is in negotiations with Indian electric car manufacturer Reva to produce its cars in Sicily, the report said.

Cape is close to raising enough money to make the project viable, with €65m marked as the minimum needed to give the green light.

If the Italian government accepts the proposal, investment would rise to €900m, with public funding allowing the Sicilian plant to become the production centre for Reva electric cars in the Mediterranean.

To break even, Simone Cimino believes the venture would have to produce 30,000 vehicles annually.

Cape manages €500m in committed capital, of which €350m is yet to be invested.

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