RINA said Intesa Sanpaolo and VEI Capital haveagreed to buy stakes through a EUR 25m ($34.54m) investment.

The undisclosed shareholding will be splitequally between the two.

There is an option to increase theinvestment to EUR 100m, depending on the “strength of subsequent capitalincreases and backing for acquisitions.”

Rina said: “The financial resources andexpertise of the new partners is designed to support and accelerate the growthand internationalisation process which RINA has initiated in recent years.”

It